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Open Learning Path

Module 2 of 6 · Foundations

Cryptography basics

Three tools from cryptography make blockchains possible. You don't need any maths to understand what each one does and why it matters.

Lessons in this module

  1. 2.1 Hash functions: digital fingerprints

    10 min · Beginner

    Lesson 2.1: what a hash function is, the properties that make it useful, and how blockchains use hashes as fingerprints for data.

  2. 2.2 Public and private keys

    10 min · Beginner

    Lesson 2.2: how public-key cryptography works, why one key is shared and one is kept secret, and what that means for blockchains.

  3. 2.3 Digital signatures

    9 min · Beginner

    Lesson 2.3: how a digital signature proves who approved a message and that it was not changed — the core of every blockchain transaction.