What is blockchain?

What is blockchain?

Bitcoin, the token, runs on the bitcoin blockchain, an immutable digital ledger. Every single transaction done in bitcoin is recorded, permanently, on the bitcoin blockchain. Think of the bitcoin blockchain as akin to the borrowing card inserted in the front of a library book, with all the borrowers listed.

The transaction data is recorded on the blockchain in bundles, called “blocks,” by “miners” who use expensive machines to mine, or upload, the blocks. The machines mine by solving complicated computations in real time (and they generate a lot of heat in the process). Miners are rewarded with a tiny amount of bitcoin every time they do so. That’s how new bitcoin gets created—the bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million coins, and 16.7 million coins have been mined so far.