About

Factom is a blockchain protocol designed to assist businesses in storing their data. It separates the immutability of blockchain technology from its associated currencies, making it easier and cheaper for businesses to store data on the blockchain. It uses cryptographic isolation, which provides for the storage of unalterable records in a secure environment.

History

Factom is a blockchain for decentralized publication that can exist atop existing blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Factom enables secure storage of digital proofs for data provenance and integrity solutions without disclosing private data or requiring trusted intermediaries. It is an open-source data layer protocol built on top of Bitcoin. It also allows businesses and individuals to build applications on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain.

Factom uses a distributed ledger architecture that allows related entries to be linked chronologically in a chain for more efficient storage and retrieval. Entries can contain any kind of data, but are not intended for storing private data. Entry data is hashed before being written into an entry block, and the actual entry data is stored in distributed hash tables and shared peer-to-peer.

Each directory block is secured in the Factom blockchain is then further secured by cryptographic anchor entries written into Bitcoin. Anchoring into other public blockchains allows for interoperability and third-party security.