Blockchain

What:

• It’s essentially a linked list of groups of transaction histories (dubbed blocks).
• Each “block” contains:
  • A hash corresponding to the previous block (of transactions)
  • A block of transactions
  • A Proof of Work (typically a hash of everything else + a special number).

Quirks:

• To find the next block, you have Blockchain Miners, who broadcast their next block.
• Copies of the chain exist across many nodes (in a Distributed Ledger)
• The true copy of the chain is the one with the most work done (most blocks calculated).

Cool Shit:

• If you tried to change any of the blocks or moved their order, you’d change the hashes, which would mess up all of the PoWs etc.
• Because all of the blocks are chained together, it’s called a Blockchain!!!! Pretty sick right
• Remember, all Linked Lists must start from somewhere. In Bitcoin, the “Genesis Block” was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto

The Gossip Protocol:

• The way we share information here is by broadcasting data to our peers, who then broadcast that day on and on (unless it’s already been seen and shared before).

Other Uses:

• Prediction Markets. That’s it lol.
• Stripe can avoid paying traditional cross-border banking fees, by taking someone’s payment, turning it to a stablecoin and then simply sending it on chain, then withdrawing.