Noob Question: Are there multiple instances of the Ethereum Blockchain?

Copper Contributor

Hello,

 

I'm totally new to Blockchain and while I understand how Cryptocurrencies work, I'm a bit confused about using Blockchain for Business purposes. 

When I use Azure Blockchain with Ethereum as a Ledger for my Business, will there be a new "empty" instance of the Ethereum Blockchain used or is there only one instance that is used all over the world by the whole Ethereum network? I know, it may be a really dumb question but the size muss be getting immense if Business all over the world use Ethereum for smart contracts....

 

I hope someone will be so kind to answer this question.

 

Thank you

Nathan

1 Reply

@Nathan_Drake Azure Blockchain Service deploys a private or "permissioned" version of Ethereum called "Quorum"; only authorized members of your blockchain network can interact with the blockchain.

 

Also, each instance of a Quorum blockchain is private.

 

Note it only makes sense for you to use blockchain as a ledger if you have some need to share the records on the ledger with some outside parties. A blockchain is not much use within a single organization; its primary purpose is to enforce trust in transactions among affiliated but not necessarily fully trusted partners.