2. Blocks - A blockchain network’s

A blockchain network’s transactions are composed of sequential groups of data that are packaged together into “blocks” strung together linearly. The first block of any blockchain is referred to as a Genesis Block and is the only block of the chain that does not hold any data on the previous block. Each block after that replicates all the data from the previous block and records any recent transactions or data change, blocks, and the information within them must be verified by a network before new blocks can be created.

All the blocks are linked using cryptographic technique and possess a hash code of the previous block, a timestamp, and a record of all previously confirmed transactions. Simply, a blockchain is an invented way to structure data in a decentralized manner, just like physically pages in a ledger, in this digital ledge each page can be considered as a block. The blockchain ledger is autonomous and is powered using a P2P (peer-to-peer) making it a decentralized transparent data flow mechanism that relies on a group instead of the individual. Each block has a block header and block body. The block is more straight forward and consists of all the number of transactions, or data, that have been confirmed and validated within the block. On the other hand, the header contains six components that are all mandatory to the authentication, or validation, of every block.

•   Block version: a number that indicates which protocol to follow

•   Parents Block Hash a 256-bit hash of the previous block header

•   Timestamp: An unchangeable tracking of the time the block as created and updated; the time is given in seconds since 1.1.1970

•   Markle Tree Root Hash: All transactions contained in a block can be aggregated in a hash resulting in a unique fingerprint that can prove one block is valid without having to know all previous blocks

•   N-Bits: Also known as the target threshold, it indicates how small the new hash must be to claim validity. Every hash has a size in bits and the smaller that value the harder it is to find a matching hash.

•   Nonce: a 32-bit number that a miner must alter to correctly solve the computational puzzle for the current block.

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