Factom (FCT)

The Factom blockchain is a decentralized publication protocol for building record systems that are immutable and independently verifiable. It enables secure storage of digital proofs for data provenance and integrity solutions without disclosing private data or requiring trusted intermediaries.

Unlike other public blockchains, 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 data but are not intended to store 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 by cryptographic anchor entries written into Bitcoin. Anchoring into other public blockchains allows for interoperability and third-party security.

The public Factom blockchain is governed by a peer-to-peer network of federated servers whose membership is based on performance and community support. Anyone can read entries and submit written requests for a fixed cost based on-chain and entry size. The Factom protocol is open source, and anyone can run a follower node or create a private network for development and production use cases.