Table 1.

Summary of types of blockchain.

	Public blockchain	Private blockchain	Consortium blockchain
What is it?	Anyone anywhere can read and write on the network. Data are validated by every node in the network, thus making it very secure	There is a highly trusted organization (owner of the blockchain) that provides permission to read and write data onto the blockchain	Permissions to verify, read, and write onto the blockchain are controlled by a few predetermined nodes
Benefits and challenges	It is secure and transparent as all transactions made are public with individual anonymity It can be inefficient as all nodes need to verify the transaction	It is efficient and private as the owner has the power to control who can read/write on the blockchain This also gives controlling power to a single consolidated entity	Efficient as fewer nodes verify transactions. It is also private as read/write access can be controlled by predetermined nodes. There is no consolidation of controlling power
Example	Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.	Ripple and Hyperledger	Corda and quorum