{"id":716,"slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-a-public-and-a-private-blockchain","question":"What is the difference between a public and a private blockchain?","intent":"informational","language":"en","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/what-is-the-difference-between-a-public-and-a-private-blockchain","entity":{"slug":"blockchain","name":"Blockchain","url":"https://worldwiki.io/entity/blockchain"},"answer":{"short_answer":"Anyone can join a public (permissionless) blockchain. NIST describes it as a system where all users' permissions are equal and not set by any administrator. A private or consortium (permissioned) blockchain requires every node and user to be granted permission, usually by an administrator or consortium. Public chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum use proof of work or proof of stake. Permissioned chains such as Hyperledger Fabric can use lighter ordering protocols, because their participants are known.","detailed_answer":"<p>See the NIST definitions <span class=\"ref\">[2]</span><span class=\"ref\">[3]</span> and Hyperledger Fabric's description of permissioned networks <span class=\"ref\">[11]</span>.</p>","format":"paragraph","confidence":75,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 07:10:23","updated_at":"2026-09-18 16:10:23"},"sources":[{"id":153,"title":"IR 8202, Blockchain Technology Overview","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8202/final","publisher":"National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:11"},{"id":154,"title":"Glossary: permissioned","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/permissioned","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:11"},{"id":155,"title":"Glossary: permissionless","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/permissionless","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:12"},{"id":156,"title":"Glossary: smart contract","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/smart_contract","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:13"},{"id":157,"title":"Block Chain — Bitcoin Developer Guide","url":"https://developer.bitcoin.org/devguide/block_chain.html","publisher":"Bitcoin Project (developer.bitcoin.org)","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:13"},{"id":158,"title":"The story of Satoshi Nakamoto and the 1 million bitcoins","url":"https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/cef/items/663083/de-","publisher":"European Commission, CEF Newsroom","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:17"},{"id":159,"title":"Stuart Haber","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Haber","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"other","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:17"},{"id":160,"title":"The Merge","url":"https://ethereum.org/roadmap/merge/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:18"},{"id":161,"title":"Proof-of-stake (PoS)","url":"https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:20"},{"id":162,"title":"Blocks","url":"https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/blocks/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:21"},{"id":163,"title":"Introduction — What is Hyperledger Fabric?","url":"https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/latest/whatis.html","publisher":"Hyperledger Foundation (Linux Foundation)","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:21"},{"id":164,"title":"Bitcoin electricity consumption: an improved assessment","url":"https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2023/bitcoin-electricity-consumption/","publisher":"Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge","type":"academic","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:23"}],"published_at":"2026-09-18 07:10:23"}