Blockchains are tamper evident and tamper resistant digital ledgers implemented in a distributed fashion (i.e., without a central repository) and usually without a central authority (i.e., a bank, company, or government). At their basic level, they enable a community of users to record transactions in a shared ledger within that community, such that under normal operation of the blockchain network no transaction can be changed once published.

In 2008, the blockchain idea was combined with several other technologies and computing concepts to create modern cryptocurrencies: electronic cash protected through cryptographic mechanisms instead of a central repository or authority. The first such blockchain based cryptocurrency was Bitcoin.

Within the Bitcoin blockchain, information representing electronic cash is attached to a digital address. Bitcoin users can digitally sign and transfer rights to that information to another user and the Bitcoin blockchain records this transfer publicly, allowing all participants of the network to independently verify the validity of the transactions. The Bitcoin blockchain is stored, maintained, and collaboratively managed by a distributed group of participants. This, along with certain cryptographic mechanisms, makes the blockchain resilient to attempts to alter the ledger later (modifying blocks or forging transactions).