In "WTF Is Crypto Really?", we looked at how blockchains replace the bank-to-bank maze with a single shared ledger - one that updates 24/7, settles instantly, and never closes for weekends or holidays. No reconciliation delays. No intermediaries. No waiting for banks to open.

But that raises a harder question:

How do you maintain one shared ledger when thousands of computers are updating it simultaneously - and no one's in charge?

That’s the real genius of blockchain.

Not speed. Not cost.

Decentralized coordination.

The ability to maintain a shared source of truth without a central authority controlling it.