Blockchain allows participants to transact directly with each other in a decentralized manner by storing the history of transactions in a distributed ledger. Like the internet reduced intermediaries in communication, blockchain reduces intermediaries in transactions through a direct and trustless system. Key benefits include increased transparency, automation, security, and decreased costs. Blockchain has potential to fundamentally change how businesses operate and interact through applications that have not yet been foreseen, similar to how the internet created new possibilities in its early years.