# (Re)-Explaining the Blockchain in One Slide

By [William Mougayar's Blog](https://wamougayar.xyz) · 2016-11-08

blockchains, featured, think-tank

---

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c9a66d453d167bd3a73dcde58d632b2a.png)

I’ve been obsessed with explaining the blockchain to increasingly larger audiences, without going through technical detours.

Today, I made a presentation at the [Red Chalk Group](http://www.redchalk.com/) [Blockchain in Insurance event in Chicago](http://www.redchalk.com/blockchain-insurance-summit/#program) where I revealed for the first time an updated slide to describe the blockchain’s potential in a single slide.

This would be my 4th iteration at explaining the blockchain in one slide. The first 3 versions were the following:

Simple Blockchain Definition
----------------------------

![Explaining the blockchain-1](http://startupmanagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Explaining-the-blockchain-1.png)

Multi-Disciplinary View of the Blockchain
-----------------------------------------

![Explaining the Blockchain-2](http://startupmanagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Explaining-the-Blockchain-2.png)

Multiple Identities View of the Blockchain
------------------------------------------

There is nothing wrong with these existing definitions. They are valid, but unlike these previous 3 versions, I wanted to focus the next iteration on “how to think about the blockchain”, i.e. give a framework for thinking about the blockchain opportunities for your particular projects or ideas.

To start with, I categorized what the blockchain enables into 4 segments:

1.  **A Software Development Environment**
    
2.  **A Global Utility**
    
3.  **Enabling Trust Services**
    
4.  **Creating New Marketplaces**
    

Each category includes a list of 3 bullets that expands on the realm of blockchain usage within these 4 categories. Here is the slide. My hope is that it generates ideas for anyone who is thinking about implementing blockchain innovations.

A Framework for Thinking About the Blockchain
---------------------------------------------

\]\]>

---

*Originally published on [William Mougayar's Blog](https://wamougayar.xyz/re-explaining-the-blockchain-in-one-slide)*