I cannot remember when I first heard the term blockchain.  I am sure it was around the time I first heard about cryptocurrency.  From what I understand, blockchain is a decentralized system that allows for ownership of digital assets.  What was there before blockchain?

Maybe that is why I don't understand what blockchain is and why it is important. I have no idea what was before blockchain!

As far as I can tell, blockchain appears to be the future in the digital space from cryptocurrency to NFT's.  

I did a simple search, "what crypto's are on blockchain" and the results were numerous. As i was looking into it, it seems to be that a lot of cryptocurrencies have their own blockchain. On this site https://builtin.com/blockchain/blockchain-platforms the outline the top 12 cryptos on blockchain at this time.  

As I am new to this process, I look forward to better understanding this whole process, what it means, and why it seems to be important.  I have only read about a few cryptocurrencies on blockchain technology. I hear the most about Ethereum and Cardano as well as a few others.

If I am not using the terminology correctly on this post, bear with me as I continue to learn about this in the future.