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Really, trying to explain the blockchain is like explaining what the internet is  ???. I will be explaining in the best form what the blockchain is and what you need to know about the blockchain. Hang on!.  :D

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WHAT IS THE BLOCKCHAIN?

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The blockchain in its simplest form is a chain of blocks containing transaction data which are recorded in the database which is the chain. The data in the blocks consist of information about the transactions including the value, date, time, digital signature and the cryptographic  hash  ( I know you must be confused what there are, i will be explaining soon).

Not all blockchains are the same so they may have different characteristics. For example, Bitcoin’s blockchain is a type of distributed ledger which is public and decentralized but you may have other blockchains modifies to fit specific purposes as they may be centralized.

Each block in the blockchain has a unique cryptographic hash and transaction timestamp and for each time a new block is formed, it contains the cryptographic hash of the previous block, so it generates in a chronological order forming a chain of transaction. The blockchain only comes into play when a crypto transaction has been verified.

Unlike other transaction database that stores information about individuals, the blockchain uses a digital signature instead. Now lets quickly look into what a digital signature is. A digital signature is simply just like a regular signature to show that something has been approved or authorized. A digital signature is used by a user to authorize crypto transations. It consists of a public and private key pair. A digital signature is not the same for every transaction as it changes everytime. Producing a signature requires your private key and a set of data. The private key ensures only you can produce the signature and this also depends on the data which changes for every transaction making it almost impossible to copy or forge a digital signature. The digital signature is further verified using the public key. A digital signature is incredibly sensitive as any slight change to the data will cause the signature to change.

The blockchain is updated every second and as new transactions occur, and blocks must be added to the blockchain in order to continue storing transaction data. Before a new block can be added to the blockchain, it must be verified, this is done by a network of computers. To ensure that the network of computers adding blocks to the blockchain are secure, they must first pass the test in order to take part in a blockchain. This particular test is called THE CONSENSUS MODEL which is considered to be one of the most important characteristics within the blockchain.

Not all blockchains are the same and therefore, they may have different characteristics. The blockchain technology is adaptable and can be modified to fit specific purpose. Blockchain isn't just used for storing and recording information about digital transactions, it can also be used to store information about property exchanges and also medical records.

This will be all for now! I hope this helped!

what do you think about the blockchain? Drop your additions and corrections  :D

Good intro, most people can google it but its also good to see a short part of it here.

I'd say that for newbs, you can watch some basic informational videos on YT to better understand blockchain in layman's terms.

Though blockchain has been outlined since 1991, a lot of parties are still not taking advantage of this tech. Concordium introduces innovations at the protocol (https://concordium.com/), fixing fundamental design issues that haunted earlier generations of blockchains and issues that have hindered large-scale adoption of blockchain technology. Once these companies start looking at blockchain, we'll scale up from there.

Yes. This topic was created just to make this explanation as simple as possible to crypto noobs.
There will be more contents coming up stay tuned!.

it is actually not that simple. the complicated part is the part where these individual blocks are chained together using cryptography and also the part where some method is used to make the entire database immutable (which means unchangeable).

the hash algorithm isn't stored in the blocks! the blocks are hashed (or rather the header of the block) and then the hash of it is used in the next block.

this part is wrong. bitcoin blockchain is what you explained. but other blockchains could be private and centralized and not-distributed.

the signature is created using the private key, it neither contains the private key itself nor the public key. signature is simply 2 numbers called r and s.

this is wrong. blockchain is updated each time a new block is found which can be in less than a second to infinity time depending on many things such as the way difficulty of the said blockcahin works or even if it is using the same proof of work algorithm as bitcoin (some are not) and how many are mining and finally how lucky they are in finding the hash.

it is good that you are making the effort like this but i think you should educate yourself more before trying to teach others.

Thank you for your addition and correction. I used bitcoin’s blockchain in explaining the blockchain in this term. I should have made reference to the example being used.

Yes! the digital  signature is created using the private key alongside a set of data which changes everytime. They are verified by the public key.

Thanks for this. I should make the post open to additions and corrections.
I am a cryptocurrency enthusiast and I’m always open to anything new.
This is just me explaining to my knowledge what a block chain is, using bitcoin’s blockchain as an example.



Yes Not all blockchains are the same and therefore, they may have different characteristics. The blockchain technology is adaptable and can be modified to fit specific purposes. I will update the post with reference to bitcoin blockchain

Thanks for trying to educate the public. Basically, blockchain is blockchain don't really understand what you mean by not all "blockchains are blockchain" What I suppose you mean to say is that blockchain technology are used for different life application purposes. And the bitcoin network is different from ethereum chain and likewise BNB chain.

That part was a typo, thanks for the correction! well appreciated.

As a newbie, I found this thread much helpful!

I'm happy you do!