What Is the Primary Difference between a Private and a Public Blockchain?
A public blockchain, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, is permissionless, allowing anyone to join, read, and validate transactions. A private blockchain is permissioned, meaning participation is restricted to pre-selected entities.
Public chains rely on economic incentives and large-scale consensus for security. Private chains often use faster, more efficient consensus algorithms among a smaller, trusted group.
Glossar
Public Blockchain
Transparency ⎊ The open and permissionless nature of a public blockchain mandates radical transparency for all recorded transactions, which is highly advantageous for ESG auditing.
Private Blockchain
Control ⎊ A private blockchain operates under the control of a designated entity or consortium, allowing for tailored governance over transaction validation and data access.
Economic Incentives
Incentive ⎊ These structures, primarily block rewards and transaction fees, align the economic self-interest of miners with the security of the network.