Blockchain technology has its roots in the late 1970s when a computer scientist named Ralph Merkle patented Hash trees or Merkle trees. These trees are a computer science structure for storing data by linking blocks using cryptography. In the late 1990s, Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta used Merkle trees to implement a system in which document timestamps could not be tampered with. This was the first instance in the history of blockchain.

The technology has continued to evolve over these three generations

First generation – Bitcoin and other virtual currencies : In 2008, an anonymous individual or group of individuals known only by the name Satoshi Nakamoto outlined blockchain technology in its modern form. Satoshi's idea of the Bitcoin blockchain used 1 MB blocks of information for Bitcoin transactions. Many of the features of Bitcoin blockchain systems remain central to blockchain technology even today.

Second generation – smart contracts : A few years after first-generation currencies emerged, developers began to consider blockchain applications beyond cryptocurrency. For instance, the inventors of Ethereum decided to use blockchain technology in asset transfer transactions. Their significant contribution was the smart contracts feature.

Third generation – the future : As companies discover and implement new applications, blockchain technology continues to evolve and grow. Companies are solving limitations of scale and computation, and potential opportunities are limitless in the ongoing blockchain revolution.