Global state

One of the key properties of blockchain technology is that it can act as a trusted global state. There are many applications where a trusted global state is important but difficult, such as financial technology and logistics.

For instance, a few years ago, I ordered some camera equipment online. A few days later, I came home and was surprised to find that my equipment had arrived. I was so thankful that the expensive equipment sitting outside had not been stolen. It was only the next day that I received an email from the seller alerting me that the package had been shipped.

Here is a clear breakdown of the global state. The truth was that the camera was already on a truck, but neither I nor the shipper had that information stored properly. If the camera equipment had been stolen from my porch, it would have been very hard to discover what had happened.

If the seller, the logistics company, and I were all writing and reading data from a blockchain, this would have been impossible. When the logistics company registered the shipment, the state of the object would have changed, and both the seller and I would have known as soon as the next block was finalized.