This is due to the Merkle tree's widespread use in the domain of blockchain. In fact, following the collapse of the Centralized Exchange (CEX) FTX, many CEXs have started a trend of implementing Merkle trees as a form of Proof of Reserves (PoR) to reassure users of their fund's security.
In this blog, we will explore the concept of Merkle trees, including how they work and their role in the blockchain. We'll also go over some of the benefits of using Merkle trees, such as their ability to verify data integrity and their storage and computation efficiency. So, whether you are a cryptocurrency enthusiast or a computer science enthusiast, this blog post has something for you.
What is a Merkle tree?
A Merkle tree, also known as a hash tree, is a data structure that is used in the field of cryptography to verify the authenticity and integrity of data. It does this by generating a unique cryptographic hash for each piece of data and then organizing these hashes in a tree-like structure. These hashes are unique values obtained after encoding files to a fixed and smaller value than the original file.
In computer science, a Merkle tree is a tree-like data structure made up of nodes, with each node representing a hash of some data. Hashes are then used to verify the authenticity and integrity of the data by ensuring that the hash of the data matches the hash of the root node.
The Merkle Tree concept is named after computer scientist Ralph Merkle, who patented it in 1979. Then in 1987, he published the paper "A Digital Signature Based on a Conventional Encryption Function," which used this concept. He is mainly known for his work on public-key cryptography and cryptographic hashing.
The Merkle tree is fundamentally a binary tree structure, which means that each node can have up to two children. Each node authenticates the sub-nodes and represents the hash of the sub-nodes. They are used in distributed systems to verify data efficiently by storing it in hashes rather than entire files. Popular blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum use merkle trees to store and verify large amounts of transaction data more securely and efficiently.
Structure of Merkle Tree
So, before we can understand the workings of a Merkle tree, we must first understand its structure and components....Read More
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