1. Discuss the transparency offered by blockchain in the context of intermediaries.

The blockchain is a specific implementation of a distributed ledger that inherits transparency by design. With centralized registers, we typically have to go through one or more intermediaries to ensure the transparency of a transaction and build a consensus on the current owner of an asset. However, the distributed ledger system stores all information on a distributed network that is accessible by anyone in the network.

You wouldn’t have to go to banks to transfer money or involve Uber to hail a ride service. Similarly, you don't need to involve brokers in your real-estate businesses because blockchain is a trust protocol and it'll ensure the transparency necessary to verify the ownership of the asset by the seller.

As an example, suppose a company is selling its digital tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Etherscan is a tool that enables you to explore and search the Ethereum blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities taking place on Ethereum.