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互联网曾经彻底改变了信息传播技术，如今，区块链技术也有望以相同的方式彻底改变金融业。

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Very simply, a blockchain is a digital ledger that keeps track of transactions chronologically and openly. Imagine a public Google spreadsheet that anyone can access. Every transaction is encrypted and recorded on that spreadsheet, so even while publicly available, the personal information is hidden.

很简单，区块链就是一个数字账簿，它按时间顺序公开地记录每笔交易。

让我们设想一个任何人都可以访问的公用谷歌电子表格。每笔交易都被加密并记录在这个电子表格中，因此，尽管表格公开可用，但个人信息却是隐藏的。

Blockchain technology has the promise to revolutionize finance in the same way the internet revolutionized communication.

Here’s what you need to know.

互联网曾经彻底改变了信息传播技术，如今，区块链技术也有望以相同的方式彻底改变金融业。

下面这些是你需要知道的。

Up first is security. Blockchain is disrupting finance because its structure makes transactions more secure. Your data is recorded but scrambled into code so it is much more difficult to hack.

首先是安全性。区块链正在颠覆金融行业，因为它的结构使交易变得更加安全。你的数据被记录下来，但是会被编译成代码，因此很难破解。

Even more importantly, blockchain is decentralized. Unlike big bank and internet servers, blockchain databases aren’t all stored in one single location.

更重要的是，区块链是去中心化的。与大型银行或互联网服务器不同，区块链的数据库并非全部存储在仅一个位置。

Secondly, blockchain could disrupt finance because it is much more efficient than previous systems. Some transactions that used to take days could be done instantaneously using blockchain. Middlemen can sometimes slow the process of doing a deal. Financing a trade across borders, for instance, can involve lots of intermediaries, and lots of paper.

第二，区块链可能颠覆金融业是因为其效率远高于以前的各种体系。一些过去需要几天才能完成的交易，利用区块链可以即刻完成。有时，中间商会导致交易进程缓慢。比如在跨境交易的金融业务中，交易双方之间就可能存在许多中间人和大量文件。

This is because there is an inherent lack of trust in other parties, so traders want checks and balances. But with blockchain, every party can verify the data at once, and has a record of the transaction.

这是由于交易各方对于彼此天然地存在信任不足问题，因此各方想要互相制衡。但有了区块链，任何一方都能做到即时验证数据，并对交易进行记录。

Some big players have already decided that blockchain offers them a better way. The Australian Securities Exchange is now in the process of replacing its entire post-trade system with a blockchain system that could resolve trades faster than the current two-day system.

一些大型机构已经决定利用区块链来提供更好的解决方案。目前，澳大利亚证券交易所（Australian Securities Exchange，ASX.澳大利亚）正在使用区块链系统取代其整个交易后结算系统。目前的系统需要两天时间完成交易清算，而区块链系统能更快地完成任务。

Finally, blockchain has the potential to save the financial industry money on manpower.

最后，区块链有可能为金融业节省人力花销。

Stock trades might take milliseconds these days, but it takes days to record and finalize all those transactions. With everything recorded automatically on a blockchain, banks wouldn’t need people to manually record every transaction any more.

如今的股票交易可能只需几毫秒就能完成，但是登记和结算这些交易却要花上好几天。如果所有的东西都被自动记录在区块链上，银行就不再需要人员手动记录每笔交易了。

At this point, it’s still too early to know exactly what kind of blockchain technology will stick around -- just like we didn’t know what websites back in the early 90s would be the big winners. But what’s clear is that blockchain has vast potential, and it’s worth paying attention to.

想知道究竟什么样的区块链技术将会长盛不衰，现在还为时过早——就像我们在90年代初期无从知晓哪些网站将脱颖而出一样。但显而易见的是，区块链的潜力无限，值得我们 关注。

翻译：王安琪

转载来源：巴伦

编辑：可大宝

图片来源：网络

文图版权归属著作人

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