Crypto Glossary
Blockchain
A shared digital record of transactions that no single person or company controls. Everyone can read it, and changes are extremely hard to fake.
Definition
A blockchain is a database shared across many computers at the same time. Transactions are grouped into blocks, and each new block is linked to the one before it, forming a chain.
Because every computer keeps a copy and they all check each other's work, no single party can quietly rewrite the past. That is what makes blockchains useful for money, ownership records, and other things where trust matters.
Related terms
- BitcoinThe first cryptocurrency. A digital money you can send anywhere in the world without a bank, secured by a network of computers.
- CryptocurrencyDigital money that lives on a blockchain instead of in a bank account.
- NodeA computer that helps run a blockchain by storing the ledger and checking new transactions.
- ConsensusThe way a blockchain's computers agree on which transactions are valid and which version of the ledger is correct.
Source: What The Block! Dictionary v1.0 (last updated 2026-04-25).