Blockchain Open Source Tools: Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric

Abstract

In recent times, blockchain has received a lot of exposure due to its increased usage in many fields. Blockchain is a decentralized and open ledger that contains information on transactions. It works as an underlying technology for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and others. It eliminates the double-spending problem by implementing the digital signature mechanism. Blockchain technology has evolved to address the confidentiality and other technical issues that come with using distributed databases. It offers a decentralized environment for processing the transactions, establishes trust among the nodes participating in the network, and also removes the use of central third-party authority. The blockchain contains information on every transaction and is completely change-resistant. It offers peer-to-peer networks in which all nodes are able to validate the transactions happening in the network using a consensus mechanism. This is a very revolutionary technology that has been developed and widely used in a variety of fields. But still having some challenges like security, privacy, storage, scalability, latency, higher consumption of energy, and others. In this paper, the two popular open-source tools for blockchain technology are presented: Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric. Ethereum is public and permissionless platform whereas Hyperledger Fabric is private and permissioned. The Transaction life cycle of Ethereum and the architecture of Hyperledger Fabric are discussed.