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What is a blockchain?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
A blockchain groups transactions into blocks and chains them together. Altering an old record breaks every block after it, so tampering is detectable.
Key points
- Records are chained block by block
- Tampering invalidates every later block
- Many participants hold the same ledger
Definition
A distributed ledger in which records are linked by hashes and replicated across many participants.
Every block contains a hash summarising the block before it. Change a single character in an old block and that summary changes, breaking consistency with everything after it.
Combine that with a ledger replicated across many participants and you get practical tamper resistance.
Watch out for
- · The ledger is public — anyone can read your transaction history