Blockchain
Core route · cryptography
Hashing, chaining, and the tamper cascade.
This lab turns blockchain mechanics into an editable sandbox. Fill block fields, mine a nonce, and watch how altering one block invalidates everything downstream. It builds intuition for chained state before moving into signatures and privacy.
At a glance
Blockchain is often explained with jargon. This makes the core mechanic — chained hashes and tamper propagation — something you can see and break yourself.
Mine a block, then tweak a field in an earlier block and watch the cascade fail. Once that feels obvious, open the distributed view to see how consensus fits into the same model.
About 10 to 15 minutes. Beginner friendly. It is the clearest first stop in the cryptography sequence because the failure mode is visible immediately.
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Reading path
- Open the live interactive: https://kohnnn.github.io/interactive-explanation/blockchain/
- Use Blockchain 101 Combined Flow for the cleanest sequence through the rest of the family
- Continue through Private Keys when you want signatures and authenticity after chained state
- Continue via Interactive or Visual Notes