You don’t need to understand cryptocurrency, coding, or complicated technology to understand the basic idea behind blockchain.

At its simplest, blockchain is a way of recording and verifying information digitally.

Instead of important information being stored in only one place, blockchain can create a shared record that is extremely difficult to secretly change. When information is added, it can be verified and connected to the information that came before it.

Think of it as a digital record book with a built-in history.

So, What Is a Blockchain?

A blockchain is made up of individual pieces of information called blocks.

Each new block connects to the one before it, creating a chain.

That is where the name comes from:

Block + Chain = Blockchain

Once information has been recorded and confirmed, changing it isn’t as simple as opening a file and editing it. The system is designed so changes can be detected and the history of the record can be preserved.

What Does That Have to Do With Your Home?

Your property already depends on records.

Your deed, ownership history, title information, contracts, signatures and other documents all help establish who owns the property and what has happened to it over time.

Blockchain technology could provide another way to record, verify and connect some of that information digitally.

That could eventually help make parts of real estate more transparent, secure and easier to verify.

You Don’t Have to Become a Blockchain Expert

That’s the important part.

As a homeowner, buyer or seller, you don’t need to know how to build a blockchain any more than you need to understand how your bank’s computer systems work to use online banking.

You simply need to understand what the technology can do, where it may appear in real estate, and what it could mean for you.

And that’s exactly what we’ll explore next.