Today I will tell you how blockchain works.
Blockchain technology is a decentralized, trustless, collectively-maintained database technology that allows participants in the network to exchange and transmit secure, traceable, and tamper-proof data without the need for a centralized trust authority. How blockchain works can be broadly divided into the following steps:
1.Initial Block: The starting state of a blockchain is a blank block, known as an initial block or genesis block. This block usually contains some metadata such as a timestamp, the name of the blockchain network, etc.
2.Transaction pooling: When a new transaction occurs, the transaction is packed into a block and then added to the end of the blockchain. These transactions are first placed into a pool of transactions, waiting to be packed into a new block.
3.Competing for bookkeeping rights: In a blockchain network, each participant has the opportunity to become the next block generator, competing for bookkeeping rights on the blockchain. This competitive process is usually carried out through the methods of "proof of work" or "proof of stake".
4.Build a new block: Once a participant successfully solves a proof-of-work or proof-of-stake problem, they gain the right to create a new block. This new block will contain information such as the hash of the previous block, timestamps, transaction data, and some additional metadata.
5.Validation and storage: Once a new block is created, it is sent to other participants in the network for validation. Once the other participants verify that the new block is valid, they incorporate the new block into their own copy of the blockchain and begin competing for the bookkeeping rights of the next block.
6.Continuous expansion: Over time, the blockchain will continue to lengthen, and each new block will contain the hash of the previous block, forming a chain. This process continues until the blockchain reaches a preset length or is terminated by other mechanisms.
Throughout the process, the blockchain ensures the security and trustworthiness of the data through cryptography and consensus mechanisms. Each participant owns a copy of the entire blockchain, and each new block needs to be validated by other participants before it can be included in the blockchain. This makes the blockchain a highly secure, decentralized database that can be used to record various transactions, information, or value exchange scenarios.
In conclusion, the principle of blockchain is:Collective maintenance database technology based on cryptography technology and consensus mechanismThrough decentralization and trustlessness, secure, traceable and tamper-proof data exchange and transmission are realized. This technology is expected to play an important role in many fields, including finance, chain management, healthcare, IoT, and more.