Best known as the engine behind Bitcoin, blockchain is emerging as a trustless, tamper-proof system with the potential to ...

Understanding what blockchain is and how it works may feel like learning a new language. But it doesn't have to be. Find out ...

Blockchain technology operates as a chain of blocks built on each other in an immutable sequence. Miners compete to solve mathematical or algorithmic problems to make each block.

Another popular block-minting architecture is known as proof of stake.Here, transactions are validated and baked into data blocks by existing holders of the blockchain’s digital tokens.

Peter Gratton, M.A.P.P., Ph.D., is a New Orleans-based editor and professor with over 20 years of experience in investing, risk management, and public policy. Peter began covering markets at ...

Nodes are the backbone of a blockchain network. Learn about this critical part of every cryptocurrency, including what a node is and how it works.

There are different consensus mechanisms used to verify transactions and add new blocks to a blockchain. In cryptocurrency, the most common methods are proof-of-work and proof-of-stake.

Once relegated to the global financial system’s outermost fringes, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have entered the mainstream consciousness in a dramatic and disruptive fashion.

However, a block's Merkle tree does not occupy a large amount of storage on a blockchain. For example, Bitcoin block 854,473 had 2,530 transactions, and each transaction's hash is 64 bytes.

Blockchain technology stores data in blocks and link them together to form a chain. The blocks have a specific capacity and, when filled, are closed and linked to the previous block.