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I suspect what you're calling a blockchain is actually a merkle tree. The blockchain is a merkle tree structure shared via p2p communication over a protocol des
by beaconstudios 6y ago
I suspect what you're calling a blockchain is actually a merkle tree. The blockchain is a merkle tree structure shared via p2p communication over a protocol designed to prevent double spending.
Merkle trees were invented in 1979. If companies looking to prevent data tampering didn't make use of them until they got rebranded as "blockchain" then those companies are just bad at what they do.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y ago> The blockchain is a merkle tree structure shared via p2p communication over a protocol designed to prevent double spending. I'd say "The blockchain is a Merkle tree structure with a consensus algorithm which selects a canonical path to a leaf node at any given time." I don't think preventing double spending is a meaningful concept for non-cryptocurrency blockchains, since those have nothing to spend. Whether we accept that such things are blockchains determines whether this distinction makes any sense. Though, if all blockchains are cryptocurrencies then there's not really any need to separate the two terms.
- beaconstudios 6y agoYes you're right, that's a better generalised description of them. Of course that's what I meant by "double spending" (essentially, the list becoming a graph, ie forking), but precision in communication is important.