What is a Bitcoin Block ? Explained Simply (Part 2)

In the last post we discussed the open ledger (found here) and the role it plays in the Blockchain. We also talked about created a dummy blockchain. In this post we shall look inside a Bitcoin block.

Block Basics

The bitcoin system orders transactions by placing them in groups called blocks. Transactions that are in the same block are believed to have happened at the same time. A block in bitcoin has a header, which is similar to a letter header.

Simplified Bitcoin Block Header:

Previous Hash:

Transaction Summary:

The Answer:

Proof of Work:

Previous hash: points to the previous block

Transaction Summary: A summary of the all the transactions within the block.

The Answer: An answer to the problem (Explained later)

Proof of Work: Proof that the block has been solved.. (Explained later)

Below is visual of what a Block looks like

Previous hash and transaction summary are self explanatory fields. The last two fields “The Answer” and “Proof of Work” are a bit more complex. To understand these fields and how blocks are solved we need to discuss hashing. That will be in the next post which you can find here.

Credits:

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This post was created by Gerry and Rich Mpanga.