Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps

©  Daniel Drescher 2017

Daniel Drescher, Blockchain Basics, 10.1007/978-1-4842-2604-9_18

18. Verifying and Adding Transactions

Ruling a group of computers with carrot and stick

Daniel Drescher¹ 

(1)Frankfurt am Main, Germany

In Step 17 individual computers were turned into nodes of a purely distributed peer-to-peer system that communicate with one another about transaction data and new blocks to be added to the blockchain-data-structure. This step focuses on what happens once a node receives transaction data and how to ensure that only valid transaction data and blocks are added to the blockchain-data-structure.

The Metaphor

Let’s consider a company that offers a simple service: grading multiple-choice tests for schools and universities. Schools and ...