Name: Nikhil Sanjeev Thakare UID: 21BCS1999

Section: 15 Date: 14th January, 2023

Value Added Course- “Blockchain Essentials and

Development of DApps”
Assignment 1

Q1. Which features distinguish databases from blockchain

ledgers? Provide a comparative analysis of the two.
Answer:-
Database
Database uses centralized storage
of data.
Database needs a Database admin
or Database administrator to
manage the stored data.
Modifying data requires
permission from database admin.
Centralized databases keep
information that is up-to-date at a
particular moment
Centralized databases are used as
databases for a really long time
Blockchain Ledger
Blockchain uses decentralized
storage of data.
There is no administrator in
Blockchain.
Modifying data does not require
permission. Users have a copy of
data and by modifying the copies
does not affect the master copy of
the data as Blockchain is
irresistible to modification of
data.
Blockchain keeps the present
information as well as the past
information that has been stored
before.
Blockchain is ideal for transaction
platform but it slows down when
and have a good performance used as databases, specially with
record, but are slow for certain large collection of data.
functionalities.

Q3. How does blockchain technology prevent/ solve the problem

of “Double spending” in digital currencies such as Bitcoin?
Answer:-
 Definition: Spending money more than once results in double
spending. The double spending issue is never possible with
physical currency. However, double spending can occur with
digital currency like bitcoin.
Imagine that you have 1 BTC and you attempt to spend it twice in
two separate transactions. You could attempt to do this by sending
the same BTC to two separate bitcoin wallet addresses. Both of
these transactions will then go into the pool of unconfirmed
transactions. The first transaction would be approved via the
confirmation mechanism and then verified into the subsequent
block. However, the second transaction would be recognized as
invalid by the confirmation process and would not be verified. If
both transactions are pulled from the pool for confirmation
simultaneously, the transaction with the highest number of
confirmations will be included in the blockchain, while the other
one will be discarded.

While this effectively deals with the issue of double spending, it is

not without its issues. For example, the intended recipient of the
second (failed) transaction would not have part in the transaction
itself failing, and yet that person would not receive the bitcoin they
had anticipated. Many merchants wait for at least 6 confirmations
 of a transaction (meaning that six subsequent blocks of transactions
were added to the blockchain after the transaction in question). At
this point, the merchant can safely assume that the transaction is
valid.

There remain other vulnerabilities in this system which could allow

double-spend attacks to take place. For example, if an attacker is
somehow able to control at least 51% of the has power of the
network, they can commit double spending. If an attacker were
somehow able to get control of this much computational power,
they could reverse transactions and create a separate, private
blockchain. However, the rapid growth of bitcoin has virtually
insured that this type of attack is impossible.

 Features that prevents Double Spending:

o The Blockchain of Bitcoin contains a universal ledger.
o Bitcoin has a Timestamp Server.
o Every Bitcoin transaction ever performed is recorded.

Q4. Suggest which type of blockchain should be used for the

security of donations in a charity organization. What benefits
does the blockchain technology introduce in such a scenario?
Explain your answer using an example.
Answer:-
 Blockchain for charities: Charitable organizations often
encounter barriers to success due to a lack of transparency,
accountability issues, and limits to the ways they can accept
donations. Crypto-philanthropy (or the use of blockchain
technology to facilitate charitable contributions) offers an
alternative solution, with decentralized and direct transactions
 that may help these organizations receive donations and raise
funds more efficiently.
 Cryptocurrency donations: There is still a long way to go until
cryptocurrencies get globally adopted, and this route is
particularly long when it comes to charity. Currently, there are a
small but growing number of charitable organizations that have
already embraced cryptocurrency as a donation method.
Donors that intend to use cryptocurrency to make their
contributions may have to either confine their efforts to the few
organizations that support them or donate large enough amounts
as an attempt to persuade their favourite charities into accepting
crypto payments.
Before a charity starts receiving cryptocurrency donations, it
needs to have a process in place for managing and distributing
the funds in a transparent and efficient way. Understanding the
basics of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology - and how
the donations can be converted into fiat currency - is crucial for
an effective implementation strategy.
 Potential benefits of crypto-philanthropy: Crypto-
philanthropy promises some notable advantages for charitable
organizations and donors, which include:
 Total transparency
 Global and decentralized
 Digital agreements
 Reduced expenses
 Reduced taxes
 Concerns and limitations: Despite the potential advantages,
there are some potential concerns to be considered when
adopting crypto-philanthropy:
 Volatility
 Security
 Public awareness and understanding
 Example: Crypto-philanthropy has been taken up by some high-
profile charitable organizations in recent years. In 2017, for
example, the global philanthropic organization Fidelity
Charitable received the equivalent of $69 million in
cryptocurrency donations. The same year, an anonymous donor
known as Pine distributed around $55 million in Bitcoin
donations to various organizations worldwide via the Pineapple
Fund.As previously presented, the Blockchain Charity
Foundation (BCF) is another notable example of crypto-
philanthropy. The BCF is a not-for-profit organization aiming to
transform philanthropy through the use of a decentralized
charity platform.