There are four types of Blockchain
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Public BlockChain : A public blockchain is a non-restrictive, permission-less distributed ledger system. A node or user which is a part of the public blockchain is authorized to access current and past records, verify transactions or do proof-of-work for an incoming block and do mining.
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Private BlockChain : A private blockchain is a restrictive or permission blockchain operative only in a closed network. Private blockchains are usually used within an organization or enterprises where only selected members are participants of a blockchain network. The level of security, authorizations, permissions, accessibility is in the hands of the controlling organization. Thus, private blockchains are similar in use as a public blockchain but have a small and restrictive network.
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Consortium BlockChain : A consortium blockchain is a semi-decentralized type where more than one organization manages a blockchain network. More than one organization can act as a node in this type of blockchain and exchange information or do mining.
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Hybrid BlockChain : A hybrid blockchain is a combination of the private and public blockchain. It uses the features of both types of blockchains that is one can have a private permission-based system as well as a public permission-less system. With such a hybrid network, users can control who gets access to which data stored in the blockchain. Only a selected section of data or records from the blockchain can be allowed to go public keeping the rest as confidential in the private network. The hybrid system of blockchain is flexible so that users can easily join a private blockchain with multiple public blockchains. A transaction in a private network of a hybrid blockchain is usually verified within that network.
