How does a blockchain work?

Because a copy of the blockchain exists on every computer on the network at the same time, it can keep working if one or even multiple nodes go offline. When new information gets added to the ledger, it’s recorded in a group called a block. Those blocks are strung together to make up a chain of records, hence the name blockchain.

What is a blockchain database?

A blockchain has three central attributes. First, a blockchain database must be cryptographically secure. That means in order to access or add data on the database, you need two cryptographic keys: a public key, which is basically the address in the database, and the private key, which is a personal key that must be authenticated by the network.

Who invented blockchain?

While some people equate the invention of blockchain with Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakomota, the concept has been around since 1991, first coined in a paper by researchers Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta called " How to Timestamp a Digital Document ."

How are transactions recorded in a blockchain account book?

Transactions are recorded in an account book called a ledger. A blockchain is a type of distributed database or ledger—one of today’s top tech trends —which means the power to update a blockchain is distributed between the nodes, or participants, of a public or private computer network. This is known as distributed ledger technology, or DLT.