Blockchain

A blockchain is an append-only replicated ledger with a consensus rule — a database with an incentive system, not a price target.

Definition

Blocks of transactions hash-link; consensus (PoW, PoS) decides the canonical chain. Public chains are slow and expensive by design; private ledgers are databases with extra steps. Finality, forks, and MEV are the operational facts.

Why it matters

Settlement assumptions in crypto (and now some tokenized funds) hang on this. A reorg is a settlement fail.

Case

An exchange credits a deposit on 1 confirmation and gets reorged. The ledger’s truth was not the credit’s truth.

How to read it

Consensus, finality, and who can change the rule. ‘On-chain’ is not ‘risk-free.’

Memory

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Define Blockchain in plain language. Then say why it matters and give one short case. If evidence is thin, say what is missing — do not invent a trading playbook.

No query has been run yet. Which is tragically normal for most knowledge systems, but we are trying to evolve past decorative databases.