⚙️⚙️How does blockchain work?✨
Now that you know what blockchain is, let's talk about how it works. This depends on several elements that work together to collect the data that makes it up.
The members of the blockchain are called nodes, where the records of the transactions are stored.
But what is a transaction in blockchain? Well, these are the operations accounted for by the blocks in the chain. Transactions in the blockchain are diverse, ranging from file uploads to cryptocurrency exchanges.
Other transactions can be a line of text or a hash with data that is recorded in other locations of the blockchain.
Blocks are built as transactions are validated to be incorporated into the chain.
To take a closer look at how blockchain technology works, let's see what each of its components consists of.
✏️1. Blocks
A block consists of a certain number of coded transactions. Here are some of the elements that constitute a block:
📚The alphanumeric codes that link one block to the previous one.
📚An alphanumeric code that links it to the following block. In the case of the next block, it will perform calculations to decipher the code of the preceding block. This is how they will unite to form the chain.
📚The data of the transactions that make up the block: at this point, the number of the information packet will depend on various factors, including the maximum size. For example, bitcoins have blocks of 1MB every 10 minutes and Bitcoin Private has 2MB every 2.5 minutes.
In the blockchain, blocks allow optimizing the processes that validate transactions. In these transactions, there is a substructure called 'Merkle Tree' that summarizes the information relating each block to the others.
✏️2. Nodes
A node is a computer or chip that is linked to the blockchain. These store or distribute the current copies of the chains of blocks that have been generated.
That is, as blocks are added to the chain, the nodes will have this data updated. Among the most important functions of the nodes are:
📚Validation of transactions: this validation ensures that transactions are legitimate or have not been altered. It is the cryptographic algorithms that help determine the truthfulness of the operations through data such as the following:
The amounts of cryptocurrencies that have been transferred.
Sender and recipient address of the transactions.
Fees validated for each movement.
📚Maintenance for network integrity: the integrity of the network depends on each of the nodes that make it up. This means that to maintain the security parameters, they verify the protocols that have been established in the crypto. In case there are failures, the nodes would reject the operation.
📚Network update: another function of the nodes is the update of the network and its synchronization. These procedures are possible through the communication they maintain with each other. Each connection point receives information from the blocks that form the blockchain.
✏️3. Miners
Miners are responsible for maintaining what blockchain is. They verify each of the transactions that take place and build the blocks. In fact, they are the ones who operate the nodes. When miners complete a block, they receive rewards in the currency corresponding to the blockchain.
At least 51% of the miners in a chain must ensure that the new block is legitimate for it to be validated. It is a consensus job from the network.
Regarding the rewards that miners receive, here are some examples:
📚Currently, Bitcoin offers a reward of 6.25 bitcoins when a new block is completed.
📚Miners also receive the fees associated with the blocks per transaction once they have been completed.
There are hardware and software focused on cryptocurrency mining; the more power the equipment has, the greater the chances of completing a block and receiving a reward.