Homework on Blockchain and Mining Visually - Questions

I’m not entirely sure what you posted here in hex. From ASCII converter it seems like a coinbase tx. Thing is the data in a block is serialized so it requires less storage to be stored on a HD. You shouldn’t concern with this to much, its more of a technical detail. More important is to know what is the data being stored :slight_smile:

A great resource you can check about the block structure is chapter 9 in the Bitcoin book:
https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook/blob/develop/ch09.asciidoc#structure-of-a-block

Gotcha, I do have a tendency to take answers into left field when I am super tired. I took it a bit to literal. but yes your right, the contents are what’s important… that link was perfect for a better picture and understanding of what it’s breakdown is… Thank You

I think this is the best answer to the second question I’ve read on here

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  1. It prevents miners from changing blocks in previous transactions and also preventing double spends.
  2. Previous Hash, Transaction list, Nonce
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  1. It is important that the blocks are cryptographically linked because it ensures the integrity of the data in the blockchain.
  2. The structure of a block in bitcoin contains the list of transactions, the hash of the previously mined block and the nonce, which is essentially a random number which is used to try and get the hash low enough to be accepted.
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  1. Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?
    To secure the network more and more as time goes on because each block relies on the hash of the previous block.

  2. What does the block structure look like in bitcoin?
    hash of the previous block, data payload (transactions), and a nonce (number to be guessed)

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  1. Having blocks cryptographically linked means that even the smallest change in data anywhere along the chain will stand out as incorrect and break all blocks that come after it.

  2. A bitcoin block consists of a hash, the previous block’s hash, a transaction list, and a nonce that solved the block’s hash value at under the target value.

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Thank you! I had to google a bit, because I was really confused in small details. I assume the Bitcoin Programming course has more details

  1. Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?
    Thus is anything changes in a block, the whole chain would be broken.

  2. What does the block structure look like in bitcoin?
    [b1; Prev hashB0, Tx, Nonce] -> HashB1 -> [b2; Prev hashB1, Tx, Nonce] -> HashB2 ->

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  1. Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?
    This makes sure that there is no double spending because each block is linked to the data of the previous block making double spending virtually impossible.
  2. What does the block structure look like in bitcoin?
    Different blocks with chains linking them together
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what is inside the blocks?:slightly_smiling_face:

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  1. Having the block cryptographically linked together is the key to keeping the network integrity and security.
  2. Nonce => Transactions => Previous block hash
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  1. for security, prevent some one to alter the record or double spent.
  2. A series of box that link to gather with a chain
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Inside the blocks would contain a list of transactions (or transaction ID’s to be more specific), which act kind of like the history of the block chain and these individual pieces of history make up the blockchain

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  1. Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?
    It creates a chain that is very hard to break, especially the older the blocks are

  2. What does the block structure look like in bitcoin?
    a series of blocks or a blockchain, a bit like a python list or a C array with every new block being appended to the top of the list.

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1.- It create a more secure blockchain, adding a new layer, so it makes more logic if you follow the rules instead of trying to break them.

2.- it look like a hash base or created from the information, and previous hash of the blockchain, the the new data and the nonce from the new block.

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  1. To ensure the chain of data is immutable.
  2. a) TX
    b) block size
    c) nuance
    d) block header
    e) hash of previous block
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  1. Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?

The cryptographic link is based on the fact that a particular block’s hash value is based, among other factors, on the previous block’s hash value. If data in one block of the blockchain is altered, this block as well as all succeeding blocks are affected because their respective hash value changes and thus the cryptographic links are broken, which means that all these affected blocks must be mined again – a task that is unfeasible. This characteristic of a blockchain is a key element of ensuring data integrity throughout the chain of blocks.

  1. What does the block structure in bitcoin look like?

The structure for a given block:

The block’s hash value, the previous block’s hash value, transaction data, and the nonce that was used to mine that block.

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To ensure immutability, that no transactions can be altered or else it would break the link of the other blocks.

In the block we have previous hash, transactions and nonce. The hash of current block base on all these three factors.

btw what is the URL for the bitcoin miner simulation that Ivan uses?

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Why is it important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together?

  • it is important that the blocks are cryptographically linked together to secure the blockchain and in that way, it makes changing previous transactions in the blockchain practically impossible.

What does the block structure look like in bitcoin?

  • List of transactions the miners had picked from the mempool, the hash of the previous block, the nonce that the miners that miners guesses.
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