Coinbase

A blockchain originally block chain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. A blockchain can serve as "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which needs a collusion of the network majority.

Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain. This makes blockchains potentially suitable for the recording of events, medical records, and other records management activities, such as identity management,[12][13][14] transaction processing, documenting provenance, or food traceability.[15]

The first distributed blockchain was conceptualised by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2008 and implemented the following year as a core component of his digital currency – bitcoin – where it serves as the public ledger for all transactions.[1] The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double spending problem without the use of a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has been the inspiration for other applications. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain#Description https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain#References