blockchain
English
Etymology
From block + chainCategory:English compound terms#BLOCKCHAIN, from earlier “block chain”. In the 2008 Bitcoin paper block and chain are used separately; the concept is referred to as “chain of hash-based proof-of-work” or “chain of digital signatures”.[1]
Noun
blockchain (plural blockchains)Category:English lemmas#BLOCKCHAINCategory:English nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:English countable nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with entries#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with 3 entries#BLOCKCHAIN
- A shared record of past transactions in a distributed network, typically used for cryptocurrency. [from 2010s]
- 2014, Michael R. Miller, The Ultimate Guide to Bitcoin, Que Publishing, →ISBN, page 93:
- By the way, mobile wallets differ from most software wallets in that they don't download the entire Bitcoin blockchain with every transaction. (Many software wallets do, interestingly.) Because the blockchain is a file several gigabytes in size, this would eat up a ton of mobile bandwidth and probably cause your mobile provider to either enact overage charges or just plain cancel your account. In addition, your mobile phone probably doesn't have enough onboard storage to host the entire […]Category:English terms with quotations#BLOCKCHAIN
- 2014, Pedro Franco, Understanding Bitcoin: Cryptography, Engineering and Economics, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 95:
- […] blockchain is arguably the most important innovation introduced by Bitcoin. It is the missing link that makes distributed peer-to-peer digital currencies possible. The blockchain is in essence a distributed database holding all the Bitcoin transactions since the beginning (January 3, 2009) and a method to secure this database. The blockchain keeps a secure list of all the transactions. However, there are relevant questions, such as whether a particular transaction output is spendable, that […]Category:English terms with quotations#BLOCKCHAIN
- 2016 November 23, Scott Shackelford, Steve Myers, “Block-by-Block: Leveraging the Power of Blockchain Technology to Build Trust and Promote Cyber Peace”, in Yale Journal of Law and Technology (2017 Forthcoming) / Kelley School of Business Research Paper No. 16-85, , archived from the original on 4 February 2026, page 22 / 355:
- Examples abound regarding how firms are using blockchains to enhance cybersecurity; after all, at its most basic level, it is an open source code that can be downloaded and run by anyone, for free. Due to these exceedingly low barriers to entry, this technology has the potential to unleash coinless cybersecurity applications. Already, Marc Andreesen, a venture capitalist, has invested more than $50 million in blockchain technologies.Category:English terms with quotations#BLOCKCHAIN
Derived terms
Translations
References
- ↑ Satoshi Nakamoto (2008), “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name): “The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.”
Further reading
blockchain on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French
Etymology
Borrowed from EnglishCategory:French terms borrowed from English#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French terms derived from English#BLOCKCHAIN blockchain.
Pronunciation
Noun
blockchain f (plural blockchains)Category:French lemmas#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French countable nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French terms spelled with K#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#BLOCKCHAINCategory:French feminine nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with entries#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with 3 entries#BLOCKCHAIN
- (computingCategory:fr:Computing#BLOCKCHAIN) synonym of chaîne de blocs (“blockchain”)
Spanish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from English#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish unadapted borrowings from English#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish terms derived from English#BLOCKCHAIN blockchain.
Noun
blockchain f (plural blockchains)Category:Spanish lemmas#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish countable nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish terms spelled with K#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Spanish feminine nouns#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with entries#BLOCKCHAINCategory:Pages with 3 entries#BLOCKCHAIN
- (computingCategory:es:Computing#BLOCKCHAIN) synonym of cadena de bloques (“blockchain”)
Usage notes
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Category:es:Cryptocurrency#BLOCKCHAIN