Episode 6: Web 3.0, different blockchains and the Cambodian farmer


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A graduate of Montpellier Business School and Paris 1-Sorbonne, with experience in the worlds of banking and insurance, Laurent Pignot maintains such a passion for cryptocurrencies that he aims, one day, to launch a medium dedicated to the popularization of these alternative assets. What attracts this fan of sport and gastronomy? As a good representative of his generation, the decentralized and disintermediated dimension of these currencies. What drives it? Adrenaline is linked to the investment game.

Thanks to the previous episodes, we understand that the blockchain has the power to transmit value between individuals, by recentralizing trust not on the quality of the authority of a centralized entity, but on the quality of the quantity of a decentralized network. As we have seen, the Bitcoin blockchain is intended to be open to all so that anyone can consult the information that is serious there ad vitam aeternam. But there are other types of blockchains that don’t offer the same benefits. If the future internet, known as Web3, is made up of blockchains, it becomes essential to be able to master the underlying technology. Let’s dive into the different varieties of this technology.

Public blockchains: an open book

Let’s start with the ones we’ve looked at so far. A network open to everyone and without restriction (apart from an Internet connection), data that can not be consulted by anyone and at any time and transactions recorded in a tamper-proof and indelible digital distributed ledger, in other words, a public blockchain. Here each transaction validator on the network (called a “node”) has equal rights to access the blockchain, to create new blocks of data and to validate them. Without access conditions, this type of blockchain becomes much more easily decentralized than private and permissioned blockchains as we will see a little further down.

You have to see here, a large open book in front of you, on your table, where everyone can come and read, write and audit the lines being written and those previously entered. Imagine that each person holds this ledger, and they can all verify past and current transactions. So the more readers (nodes) there are who read the book across the whole planet, the more difficult it becomes to write false lines because not all readers will let you do it. If on this book we know that you bought 15 bitcoins, we can see it and prevent you from spending 30 bitcoins because it would be unfair (verifications that are carried out using algorithmic and cryptographic means).

Transaction on a public blockchain
Source: Blockchain France

Public blockchains are interesting for their decentralized, democratized characteristics and devoid of any central control body. If to access this public book, it is not necessary to fulfill certain criteria, other types of blockchains do not offer these same advantages.

Private blockchains: a closed book

Here, we use the metaphor of our previously quoted public book, but the rules of the game are changing. The reader, writer and listener, in other words the node (connected computer) on the blockchain, will only be able to take up their duties if and only if they have received an authentic and verified invitation. We therefore understand that in this case, not everyone can participate in the blockchain. Validation is required by network operators (which are already in place). These operators may be the creators of the blockchain and intend to control its access and have privileged rights such as modifying, authorizing or refusing certain transactions.

  • The network is only accessible to a limited number of individuals and new entrants must first be validated by the network operators, in other words, a central decision-making body.
  • Data accessibility may vary from one node to another, in other words, from one individual to another depending on the access rights defined by the operators.

In the case of our book, those who would have access to the lines could only be a company, an institution or an organization. They alone would have the power to invite another individual to participate in the construction of the book with rules that they have defined. Concretely, within the framework of the private blockchain, the quality of authority resurfaces but with blockchain technology. Not everyone can participate, transact, and authenticate changes made on this type of blockchain.

Difference between a public blockchain and a private blockchain
Source: PwC

It is easy to understand that companies will tend to rely on private blockchains because they can be controlled at will according to the rules they have established. The rules, moreover, can be modified at any time. A bank, for example, could redirect customers to the blockchains it controls, apply the fees for the various services automatically, and in addition modify the fees instantly. Transaction costs will be lower than a public blockchain, because as a control body, it will not need to rely on a decentralized global network to validate transactions. Transparency of transactions and protection against manipulation are no longer part of this type of blockchain.

The Cambodian Farmer and Permissioned (Hybrid) Blockchain

Here, the boundary is fine with the previously described blockchain. If for the private blockchain, it was necessary to receive an authentic invitation to join the network, for the permissioned blockchain, it is more a question of respecting certain criteria. By respecting these criteria we have the right to have access to certain functionalities and information. If the example of the book was simple to understand to make the difference between the private and public blockchain, here, I will take a little more advanced example to clearly differentiate the private blockchain and the permissioned blockchain.

For example, if a blockchain network is used to manage transactions of agricultural products from their origin (the farm) to the end customer (the market), the process involves several entities. Imagine that a Cambodian farmer grows dragon beans and ships them to several markets around the world. In this case, several parties enter into the process: the customs authorities who clear the products to enter their respective countries, the shipping companies who transport the products and the warehouse operators who must maintain the product within a specified temperature range serve all have a specific but vital role in securing the farmer’s transaction. In this case, permissioned networks may offer the best fit.

The farmer can enter a specific price and a particular quantity directly on the blockchain to sell his products to a buyer in America and another price and quantity to another buyer in Europe. The other entities involved such as the warehouse operator do not necessarily need information on the prices agreed between the farmer and his various buyers. They may simply need access to limited information, such as quantity and quality specifications, to perform their function and support such transactions.

Different Types of Blockchains
Source:blockchain.oodles.io

The permissioned blockchain makes it possible to give certain information to certain individuals or groups according to their role. They are partially decentralized and differ from public blockchains by a network accessible only to a limited number of users. Unlike a private blockchain where it is necessary to obtain an authentic invitation, the permissioned blockchain allows its users to access it if they meet certain criteria and once the validators on the network have accepted the request.

Private and permissioned blockchains are most likely useful in specific use cases, where one or more control bodies are needed to ensure the continuity of an activity. We are finally getting closer to the current system of corporate governance, but this time taking advantage of the speed, timestamping and transparency of the blockchain. The real technological disruption is, in my opinion, on the side of public blockchains like the Bitcoin network, which allows anyone to participate in operations anywhere in the world and which are based on a collaborative and decentralized philosophy.


We understand the importance of detecting what type of blockchain: private, public or permissioned, is used in our transactions. Operators on a private blockchain could easily freeze transactions and even modify the characteristics of some of them, such as increasing transaction fees or extending the execution time of our transactions.


If the future internet, Web3, is made up of blockchain, we will absolutely have to detect what types of blockchains will be used on the different applications. Personally I already have my opinion… In the next episodes we will explore how we are identified on these networks (private key and public key). We will also analyze the characteristics of these famous
smart contract (smart contracts) to understand their potential usefulness in the Web3. See you soon for the rest of the saga on Zonebourse.

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