What is blockchain and cryptocurrency

Blockchain is a digital registry, a distributed database, where data is recorded in the form of a chain of blocks. If you conduct operations on the blockchain, your computer or phone also becomes part of this network.

Information in the blockchain is stored in chronological order. For example, every 5 seconds, the TON Blockchain creates a new "block" of information, which not only stores all operations but also has the hash of the previous block. A hash is a set of characters obtained by encryption and uniquely corresponding to the information that was encrypted. Knowing the method by which the information was encrypted, it is very easy to get its hash, but the reverse transformation (from hash to unencrypted information) is extremely difficult and requires enormous computational resources. Since each subsequent block contains the hash of the previous one, in order to tamper with the information in a block, a fraudster would have to decrypt the complex cryptography of the blockchain and rewrite absolutely all blocks throughout the history of the blockchain's existence — and this is impossible (at least, no one has succeeded yet!).

Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that exists on the blockchain. Operations with cryptocurrency are carried out without the involvement of banks and other financial institutions. And all information about transactions is contained in a public registry — on the blockchain.

When you hear "coins," "assets," or "tokens," it usually refers to cryptocurrency.