{"id":115665,"date":"2021-12-16T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/?p=115665"},"modified":"2022-11-21T09:50:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T14:50:07","slug":"blockchain-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockchain Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Excerpt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-blockchain\">What is Blockchain?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of &#8216;blocks&#8217; of information, and each block is &#8216;chained&#8217; to its previous block. Blocks? Chains? Let\u2019s break it down further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"blocks-chains-and-hashes\">Blocks, chains and hashes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A block is made up of several records, like a table in a regular database or a spreadsheet. But what makes it different from a traditional database is that each block is connected or chained to the previous block. We will see how this &#8216;chaining&#8217; happens in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, before we move any further, let us briefly touch upon what a hash is. Just like fingerprints are used to identify human beings, a hash is a string of seemingly random numerical values that represents any file &#8211; an image, text, audio, etc. Every time you create a hash of a file &#8211; you will get the same value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, even a minor modification to the file, be it whitespace, or even a comma, will change the hash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are different types of hashing algorithms, but the one usually used in blockchain is SHA256. Here, SHA means Secure Hash Algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Python, we can use the &#8216;<em>hashlib<\/em>&#8216; module to generate hashes for a file\/string. This module supports many different types of hashing algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>import hashlib\n\nfor hash in hashlib.algorithms_guaranteed:\n\n   print(f'{hash} algorithm is available.')<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/quantra-go-algo\/073530cb4ddfaca0be7e8c5f88dbd9bd#file-using-hashlib-py\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Using hashlib.py<\/a>\u00a0hosted with \u2764 by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GitHub<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sha1 algorithm is available.\nsha3_256 algorithm is available.\nshake_256 algorithm is available.\nblake2b algorithm is available.\nsha3_512 algorithm is available.\nsha256 algorithm is available.\nsha384 algorithm is available.\nmd5 algorithm is available.\nsha224 algorithm is available.\nsha3_224 algorithm is available.\nshake_128 algorithm is available.\nsha512 algorithm is available.\nblake2s algorithm is available.\nsha3_384 algorithm is available.<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is an illustration of generating a SHA256 hash for a string in Python, and how the hash changes with tiny changes in the string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>string = &#91;\"Hello World!\", \"Hello World\", \"hello World!\", \"hello world!\"]\n\nfor s in string:\n   hash = hashlib.sha256(s.encode()).hexdigest()\n   print(f'The hash for {s} is {hash}.')<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/quantra-go-algo\/b866588d8f985e90775a1ea033f5cdea#file-generating-a-sha256-hash-for-a-string-py\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Generating a SHA256 hash for a string.py<\/a>\u00a0hosted with \u2764 by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GitHub<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>The hash for Hello World! is 7f83b1657ff1fc53b92dc18148a1d65dfc2d4b1fa3d677284addd200126d9069.\nThe hash for Hello World is a591a6d40bf420404a011733cfb7b190d62c65bf0bcda32b57b277d9ad9f146e.\nThe hash for hello World! is e4ad0102dc2523443333d808b91a989b71c2439d7362aca6538d49f76baaa5ca.\nThe hash for hello world! is 7509e5bda0c762d2bac7f90d758b5b2263fa01ccbc542ab5e3df163be08e6ca9.<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>As we can see above, even a minor change in the string leads to a different hash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each block contains the data for that block along with the hash of the previous block. For the first block of the chain, called the \u2018<strong>Genesis<\/strong>\u2019 block, the value of the previous hash is a string of all zeros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second block contains the hash of the genesis block and the data, and the third block contains the hash of the second block and data, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/12\/blockchain-quantinsti.png\" alt=\"Blockchain Explained\" class=\"wp-image-115671 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Representative image for a blockchain\u200c\u200c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is an example of a simple blockchain in Python:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>import hashlib\nimport datetime as dt\n\n# Define a block class\nclass block:\n   def __init__(self, time, data, prev_hash):\n       self.timestamp = time\n       self.data = data\n       self.prev_hash = prev_hash\n       self.hashvalue = self.generate_hash()\n   def generate_hash(self):\n       data = str(self.timestamp) + str(self.data) + str(self.prev_hash)\n       hashvalue = hashlib.sha256(data.encode()).hexdigest()\n       return hashvalue\n\n# Create the genesis block with previous hash value as 0\ndef create_genesis_block():\n   timestamp = dt.datetime.now()\n   data = 'Genesis block'\n   prev_hash = '0'\n   return block(time=timestamp, data=data, prev_hash=prev_hash)\n\n# Generate all later blocks in the blockchain\ndef create_block(prev_block, sender, receiver, amount):\n    timestamp = dt.datetime.now()\n    data = f'Sender: {sender}\\nReceiver: {receiver}\\nAmount: {amount}'\n    print('Data for this block is:\\n',data)\n    prev_hash = prev_block.hashvalue\n    return block(time=timestamp, data=data, prev_hash=prev_hash)\n\n# Let's create a simple blockchain with the genesis block\nour_first_blockchain = &#91;create_genesis_block()]\n\n# The genesis block will be the previous block for the next block of the blockchain\nprev_block = our_first_blockchain&#91;0]\n\n# Let us create a blockchain with 10 blocks\nnum_blocks = 10\nfor i in range(1, num_blocks+1):\n   next_block = create_block(prev_block, sender='Sender'+str(i), receiver='Receiver'+str(i), amount=i*1000)\n   our_first_blockchain.append(next_block)\n   print(f'Block number {i} is added to the blockchain. \\nIts hash is {next_block.hashvalue}.\\nHash of previous block is {next_block.prev_hash}.\\n\\n')\n   prev_block = next_block<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/gist.github.com\/quantra-go-algo\/0c54e4d1f18df7f36814b80333f963b1#file-example-of-creating-a-blockchain-using-python-py\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Example of creating a Blockchain using Python.py<\/a>\u00a0hosted with \u2764 by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GitHub<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>Data for this block is:\nSender: Sender1\nReceiver: Receiver1\nAmount: 1000\nBlock number 1 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is dc19a1fa6ece23fec46ba93c14ea351bf0eea7246e7051bd493727109bd3fc22.\nHash of previous block is 41bc2398bddbf8813f63c1f33e936982770a97388f01f58e0558ca9ad8abbd93.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender2\nReceiver: Receiver2\nAmount: 2000\nBlock number 2 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is faa7596e965277014878f3c1016f4c55af75524f06972c6f0c0830fd70fcb798.\nHash of previous block is dc19a1fa6ece23fec46ba93c14ea351bf0eea7246e7051bd493727109bd3fc22.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender3\nReceiver: Receiver3\nAmount: 3000\nBlock number 3 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is 9353c830b5fdfc1534ddd4c459d5aa7cef9f187c578fed68ca149f590cefcb82.\nHash of previous block is faa7596e965277014878f3c1016f4c55af75524f06972c6f0c0830fd70fcb798.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender4\nReceiver: Receiver4\nAmount: 4000\nBlock number 4 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is 17d753bb661639ef1ff95664d51a19d183a718c55824436eefe380ba693b5e0f.\nHash of previous block is 9353c830b5fdfc1534ddd4c459d5aa7cef9f187c578fed68ca149f590cefcb82.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender5\nReceiver: Receiver5\nAmount: 5000\nBlock number 5 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is 31421253ef41c82bb65fb46cc95933016c608cd4c46b27d8a670f89637694673.\nHash of previous block is 17d753bb661639ef1ff95664d51a19d183a718c55824436eefe380ba693b5e0f.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender6\nReceiver: Receiver6\nAmount: 6000\nBlock number 6 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is affaaf4e8589071fda3b9229a96fcd4515934a48e72822106998492c9e092694.\nHash of previous block is 31421253ef41c82bb65fb46cc95933016c608cd4c46b27d8a670f89637694673.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender7\nReceiver: Receiver7\nAmount: 7000\nBlock number 7 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is c982a9bdd32d4f39ae1a9cf7a4db3433dbbb69aa79fd3c6324c0a1bc6288d6c2.\nHash of previous block is affaaf4e8589071fda3b9229a96fcd4515934a48e72822106998492c9e092694.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender8\nReceiver: Receiver8\nAmount: 8000\nBlock number 8 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is 3294043edb16abe51417fd1ba2d3ecdc497d11c897fdcbc96d6edc8ada661c26.\nHash of previous block is c982a9bdd32d4f39ae1a9cf7a4db3433dbbb69aa79fd3c6324c0a1bc6288d6c2.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender9\nReceiver: Receiver9\nAmount: 9000\nBlock number 9 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is eb21c2beb4405f91a075a564c5c276ab061a6c5e8b0c18d3e3135df265e49e3b.\nHash of previous block is 3294043edb16abe51417fd1ba2d3ecdc497d11c897fdcbc96d6edc8ada661c26.\n\nData for this block is:\nSender: Sender10\nReceiver: Receiver10\nAmount: 10000\nBlock number 10 is added to the blockchain.\nIts hash is dc512044c05d96a74fe97b27c374f1eefe0aa7e70dceaacedc691e35eee212f3.\nHash of previous block is eb21c2beb4405f91a075a564c5c276ab061a6c5e8b0c18d3e3135df265e49e3b.<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, if any of the blocks are modified, the hash for that block will change, and it will not be consistent with the value of the previous hash in the next block. Hence the chain will be broken!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Visit QuantInsti for additional insight on this topic: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.quantinsti.com\/blockchain\/\">https:\/\/blog.quantinsti.com\/blockchain\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block is \u2018chained\u2019 to its previous block.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":731,"featured_media":47736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[339,343,349,338,350,341,344],"tags":[10802,1596,1006,865,10800,595,10803,10801],"contributors-categories":[13654],"class_list":{"0":"post-115665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-data-science","8":"category-programing-languages","9":"category-python-development","10":"category-ibkr-quant-news","11":"category-quant-asia-pacific","12":"category-quant-development","13":"category-quant-regions","14":"tag-genesis-block","15":"tag-blockchain","16":"tag-fintech","17":"tag-github","18":"tag-hashlib-py","19":"tag-python","20":"tag-python-py","21":"tag-string-py","22":"contributors-categories-quantinsti"},"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115665\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block is \u2018chained\u2019 to its previous block.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IBKR Campus US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Udisha Alok\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Udisha Alok\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"NewsArticle\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"Udisha Alok\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7faa788f12ff54d5d598292f5a252fab\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Blockchain Explained\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 427,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/computer-platform.jpg\",\n\t            \"keywords\": [\n\t                \"'Genesis' block\",\n\t                \"blockchain\",\n\t                \"fintech\",\n\t                \"GitHub\",\n\t                \"hashlib.py\",\n\t                \"Python\",\n\t                \"Python.py\",\n\t                \"string.py\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Data Science\",\n\t                \"Programming Languages\",\n\t                \"Python Development\",\n\t                \"Quant\",\n\t                \"Quant Asia Pacific\",\n\t                \"Quant Development\",\n\t                \"Quant Regions\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant Blog\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/computer-platform.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\\\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block is \u2018chained\u2019 to its previous block.\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/ibkr-quant-news\\\/blockchain-explained\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/computer-platform.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/computer-platform.jpg\",\n\t            \"width\": 900,\n\t            \"height\": 550,\n\t            \"caption\": \"Quant\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"IBKR Campus US\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Financial Education from Interactive Brokers\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Interactive Brokers\",\n\t            \"alternateName\": \"IBKR\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg\",\n\t                \"width\": 669,\n\t                \"height\": 669,\n\t                \"caption\": \"Interactive Brokers\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"publishingPrinciples\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/about-ibkr-campus\\\/\",\n\t            \"ethicsPolicy\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/cyber-security-notice\\\/\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7faa788f12ff54d5d598292f5a252fab\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Udisha Alok\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/author\\\/udisha-alok\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant","description":"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115665\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant Blog","og_description":"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block is \u2018chained\u2019 to its previous block.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/","og_site_name":"IBKR Campus US","article_published_time":"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":550,"url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Udisha Alok","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Udisha Alok","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/"},"author":{"name":"Udisha Alok","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/person\/7faa788f12ff54d5d598292f5a252fab"},"headline":"Blockchain Explained","datePublished":"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/"},"wordCount":427,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","keywords":["'Genesis' block","blockchain","fintech","GitHub","hashlib.py","Python","Python.py","string.py"],"articleSection":["Data Science","Programming Languages","Python Development","Quant","Quant Asia Pacific","Quant Development","Quant Regions"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/","name":"Blockchain Explained | IBKR Quant Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-16T14:40:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-21T14:50:07+00:00","description":"A blockchain essentially is a database that is distributed across multiple nodes\/computers. It is made up of \u2018blocks\u2019 of information, and each block is \u2018chained\u2019 to its previous block.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/ibkr-quant-news\/blockchain-explained\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","width":900,"height":550,"caption":"Quant"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/","name":"IBKR Campus US","description":"Financial Education from Interactive Brokers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#organization","name":"Interactive Brokers","alternateName":"IBKR","url":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg","width":669,"height":669,"caption":"Interactive Brokers"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/about-ibkr-campus\/","ethicsPolicy":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/cyber-security-notice\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/person\/7faa788f12ff54d5d598292f5a252fab","name":"Udisha Alok","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/author\/udisha-alok\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/computer-platform.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/731"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115665"},{"taxonomy":"contributors-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributors-categories?post=115665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}