Now, let’s walk through the generic elements of a blockchain.
You can use this as a handy reference section if you ever need a reminder about the different parts of a blockchain.
A Technical Breakdown
The structure of a generic blockchain can be visualized with the help of the following diagram: Generic structure of a blockchain Elements of a generic blockchain are described here one by one.
These are the elements that you will come across in relation to blockchain: Address: Addresses are unique identifiers used in a blockchain transaction to denote senders and recipients.
An address is usually a public key or derived from a public key.
While addresses can be reused by the same user, addresses themselves are unique.
In practice, however, a single user may not use the same address again and generate a new one for each transaction.
End users are usually not directly identifiable, but some research in removing the anonymity of Bitcoin users has shown that they can be identified successfully.
Why This Matters for Blockchain Technology
A good practice is for users to generate a new address for each transaction in order to avoid linking transactions to the common owner, thus preventing identification.
Transaction: A transaction is the fundamental unit of a blockchain.
A transaction represents a transfer of value from one address to another.
Block: A block is composed of multiple transactions and other elements, such as the previous block hash (hash pointer), timestamp, and nonce.
Key Points to Remember
- Generic elements of a blockchain Now, let’s walk through the generic elements of a blockchain.
- You can use this as a handy reference section if you ever need a reminder about the different parts of a blockchain.
- The structure of a generic blockchain can be visualized with the help of the following diagram: Generic structure of a blockchain Elements of a generic blockchain are described here one by one.
- These are the elements that you will come across in relation to blockchain: Address: Addresses are unique identifiers used in a blockchain transaction to denote senders and recipients.
Going Deeper: Advanced Concepts
Peer-to-peer network: As the name implies, a peer-to-peer network is a network topology wherein all peers can communicate with each other and send and receive messages.
Scripting or programming language: Scripts or programs perform various operations on a transaction in order to facilitate various functions.
For example, in Bitcoin, transaction scripts are predefined in a language called Script, which consist of sets of commands that allow nodes to transfer tokens from one address to another.
Script is a limited language, however, in the sense that it only allows essential operations that are necessary for executing transactions, but it does not allow for arbitrary program development.
Conclusion
Generic elements of a blockchain represents one of the many innovative layers that make blockchain technology so powerful and transformative. As distributed systems continue to evolve, a solid understanding of these core concepts becomes increasingly valuable — not just for developers, but for anyone building, investing in, or working alongside blockchain-powered systems.
Whether you are just starting your blockchain journey or deepening existing expertise, mastering these fundamentals gives you the tools to think clearly about decentralized systems and make smarter decisions in this rapidly evolving space.