Postchain is a revolutionary blockchain platform created by Chromaway, a Swedish firm, that overcomes the constraints of traditional “decentralized ledgers” by using a “decentralized database” architecture. Unlike other blockchain platforms, Postchain enables engineers to build blockchain applications without having to learn a new programming language. This is because Postchain’s intuitive design allows developers who are familiar with SQL database management language to create blockchain applications with ease.
Most of the blockchain platforms available in the market can only record a limited amount of crucial data and cannot index the data due to their lack of databases, making it inconvenient and inefficient for applications to search for data. As a result, records on blockchains may not align with local data as the original data is stored in the local application database. However, Postchain, developed by Chromaway, overcomes this limitation by building blockchain applications on a “decentralized database” architecture, allowing rich data to be stored in each node while making the data processing of applications more efficient through database indexing and searching capabilities.
Postchain uses relational databases that offer comprehensive security features like identity restrictions and data encryption. These features make Postchain more suitable than a distributed ledger with entirely transparent data for private blockchain applications where data privacy is critical.
Blockchain as a Database
Postchain’s blockchain nodes use Linux servers and SQL relational databases that support various common SQL database systems, including MS SQL, Oracle, Postgre, MySQL, and MariaDB. The application uses the Postchain GTX protocol to send SQL commands to the main nodes, after which Postchain synchronizes the messages to all nodes, which simultaneously perform block calculations and reach a consensus before writing the data to their respective databases. Postchain uses the PBFT consensus algorithm, with a transaction speed of 160 to 500 transactions per second.
Use Cases
Postchain has been used for applications in the sale and registration of houses and lands worldwide. Real estate transactions typically involve buyers, sellers, brokers, banks, and government land administration agencies. In Sweden, for instance, buyers and sellers used the app on their smartphones to complete a series of complicated operations from appointing an agent to sell the house, the buyer making a bid, signing the contract, underwriting the loan, payment, delivery of the house, land registration of the land, and more.
All the critical contract documents, interaction records between parties, as well as the calculation and delivery of the loan and the price, are recorded on the Postchain. As the information is shared among the participating parties, credibility and accuracy of the information are ensured, comprehensively displaying the specialties and advantages of distributed databases from blockchains.