Blockchain 101 - A Visual Demo

[@bonbonpony]

Why doesn't this have more views? This is the best explanation of blockchain I've ever seen on KZbin. There are many "Blockchain explained" or "Blockchain demystified" videos which are total crap, but this one is golden. Not only it explains the concepts step by step from the grass roots up, but also it is not cluttered with Bitcoin-specific nuances (which is always the problem with other presentations, despite the fact that blockchain can also be used for other purposes than Bitcoin).

[@anders94]

Thanks very much - I really appreciate your comment.

[@MrV02]

Anders Brownworth , this is a brilliant explanation on blocks, blockchains, tokens etc. Well done! You mentioned in this video that there would be a follow-up with more details. Any timeline on when we can expect to see the next instalment? I look fwd to seeing it and thanks for sharing.

[@YeOldeKamikaze]

No idea. And yes, all videos I watched before this one "explained" blockchains from a business perspective, not a technical one. Personally, as someone looking to implement solutions based on blockchains in the future, this is a great step forward to understanding them!

[@InsiderMiner]

Great

[@baltakatei]

Bon bon confirmed to be disrupting traditional financial systems.

[@cosmopolitan4598]

Does youtube have a two thumbs like button for this kind of video?

[@furqanasdf]

i did try but no, yet still i did it 3 timea

[@TubeFish7]

I work as a maths/IT tutor and I will be showing this video to other teachers as a demonstration of effective communication.

[@boyadeng7127]

I believe this video is the most vivid block chain introduction so far I've ever seen, so thank you for making it.

[@eitan71]

i think i saw like 8-10 "what is Blockchain" videos on KZbin. only with this video i FINALLY understand it... this is BY FAR the BEST Blockchain explanation video ! Thank you VERY much !

[@Hari-888]

holy mother of god, best blockchain explanation ever!

[@derrickbane9212]

only God is holy

[@nanpanman1]

Best blockchain demo I've seen so far. Looking forward to future videos!

[@DavidScovil]

Totally agree! I wish I'd make a follow up!

[@Masfugo]

This is the best video to understand what is blockchain, what "puzzle" miner actually solve, and how do "difficult adjustment" actually done Everytime I try to remember what is blockchain I remember this video thank you very much

[@delphi7691]

Magnificent and simply perfect blockchain explantation. If all teaching videos were like this one, the world would be a better place.

[@hacking.society7837]

this is one of the best explanation I have seen so far. no animation with jingle music. I am always looking for good blockchain explanation for our podcast and I will definitely consider this one for our next episode. Just simple and to the point! Thank you so much for this!

[@05burky]

Good teachers are rare. Just found one here

[@luckyfisherman2152]

I have skimmed almost the whole KZbin. This video is by far THE most concise and clear video that explains exactly how block chain works. Thank you so much!

[@chrisberkvens]

This is, by far, the best blockchain explanation i've seen. In fact, i keep playing this vid, although i understand it 100%, just for the beauty of it.

[@tgn623]

As far as KZbin goes, this really is the best explanation of how blockchain works!!

[@chrisdutoit9881]

Finally, an explanation that makes sense. The actual visualization helped me far better understand this than most other explanations. Thanks for taking the time to do this and making it available to us.

[@justinmurberg1935]

Excellent video. Simple enough that you don't need to know anything about blockchain to follow but technical enough that you can understand the fundamentals behind how a blockchain actually operates.

[@Kay-zi6gj]

This is one of the best demo video I've ever seen, Much appreciated Anders. You earned one more fan in your list.

[@inventorofmachines]

Beautiful. Elegant. Concise. Perhaps the most productive 17 minutes I spent today.

[@joshuafaier1520]

Wow, having a visual representation makes this so much easier to understand. Thanks for this!

[@andrewscheepers7210]

Thank you very much for taking the time to create this easy to understand version of how the Blockchain works. I truly believe it is the best explanation I have seen. Thanks

[@joseluispiedrahita6660]

Wow, this is the most exquisite explanation I've seen so far on how a blockchain works. Thank you so much.

[@tracygilmore5987]

This is the very best explanation of blockchain, from first principles, I have come across. Well done Anders and thank you for making the source code available.

[@vertigohashem]

Greatest BC demo ever, love it.

[@JohnDoe-yc3rs]

I watched more than hundreds of videos on youtube about blockchain so far this is the best one thank you

[@KiranVaidya]

I am a blockchain enthusiast and this video clears a lot of confusion i had. you have explained it in very simple and efficient way. May you be blessed by Satoshi himself/herself :)

[@mbharatm]

unless the author of this video is Satoshi himself! ;-P

[@mattyb5290]

This is the only introduction to block chain that i've ever understood. Thanks for taking the time to put together this amazing demonstration!

[@lorensaunders5772]

Anders, loved this demo thank you. Couple questions: 1. in a blockchain based technology such as bitcoin, does the entire history reside in one chain and one chain only? 2. can you have multiple sets or threads of transactions happening simultaneously in a blockchain ledger? I'm wondering about scalability. 3. who creates coin base or originating transactions? with bitcoin especially... I'm wondering "how it all started" so to speak. This would also help me think about future valuations of other cryptos like etherium and lite coin for example. Thank you! Best explanation I've ever seen.

[@anders94]

Hey. 1. The entire history usually resides on one chain (of which everyone has a copy) but in the real world, chains split (such as the case with bitcoin into bitcoin cash, bitcoin gold and soon-to-be bitcoin 2x) so a single coin pre-split will become 2 coins, one on each version of the chain, post split. From a speculation perspective, it might be easiest to value bitcoin as a basket of all currencies derived from bitcoin instead of simply the price of one bitcoin. 2. You can have multiple threads of transactions but that is very uncommon at this point. (I don't think any coin trading on an exchange supports that at this point but I do know of several projects that seek to diminish blockchain bloat by doing this. 3. Coinbase transactions are allowed via a rule enforced by the software which everyone runs. It is designed into the system as both a way to get money into the system and as something to entice miners to verify transactions and include them in the chain. Hope this helps.

[@shutosham]

The best video on Blockchain thus far. Pure content , no blah blah ..

[@andyphun2008]

Really well explained - I thoroughly enjoyed the video!

[@vakvak0]

I am one year late... I watched for the first time your video, just today. Today you explained & learnt me that , so today is not a wasted day.

[@brunocarbone1272]

+Anders Brownworth Awesome work! So, a few questions: 1 - How the system decides how many transactions it will agglutinate together to form a new block? 2 - Are the transactions picked from the unconfirmed pool always taken in a chronological order? Meaning that no transaction is left behind for that timeframe when the block is created? 3 - All the nodes in the network work on the same new block? The miners always try to solve the hash of a unique available unconfirmed block?

[@anders94]

1. Usually blocks are size limited so its however many transactions fit in a block. 2. Transactions get taken in whatever order the miner wants. Usually that means highest fee transactions first but there usually are other rules to take some low or no fee transactions as well. 3. Miners work on whatever transactions they collect into their own block so it is very unlikely that other miners are working on exactly the same block. If the miner finds a valid hash, their version of the block becomes the official next block in the chain and everyone else removes the transactions included in that block and starts working on the next one.

[@panumatinaresh]

This is the best blockchain demo i have ever watched . Easy to understand and totally practical. Thanks a ton...

[@mirsalisawood4762]

I wish every tutorial on KZbin like this. Great job. looking forward to new demo.

[@BonBonShrimp]

Excellent!! Gets right to the point without any abstract talk. Watching this one video explained blockchain 10x better than reading 5 articles.

[@CraftyOldGit]

A very helpful explanation, thanks. I think this will be particularly useful to programmers and other technical people. The low level description makes it much clearer than the theoretical videos I've watched.

[@nowmintyfresh]

Fantastic introductory explanation of a block chain. First one I heard where I could actually follow along.

[@SERGIORFOLIVEIRA]

Congratulations from Brazil. Awesome explanation!

[@lukecrowley571]

This is the best explanation of blockchain that I have seen so far. Thank you!

[@arunsreekumar2156]

awesome explanation on blockchain. You should probably do a ted talk on this.

[@anders94]

I'd be happy to if someone has a spot to offer at a TEDx event.

[@dannymortimer2483]

Anders Brownworth where are you based

[@yudy92]

Anders Brownworth you should probably reply to this thread..

[@PeteGordonUSA]

Danny Mortimer Anders github shows Cambridge, MA (Boston). Anders, great video thanks!

[@antskaniso]

which online platform do we use to solve these blocks?

[@movieekkfreeakk9801]

keep all the talk n buzz aside n explain things in the simplest way possible... you sir are a LEGEND for doing just this... Einstein said if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well... you made the complicated blockchain so simple to understand that the Blockchain community should make you their spokesperson... so glad I stumbled on to this... waiting for part 2

[@Massimus888]

Great video and phenomenal visualization. Looking forward to pt.2!

[@kurtschatteman5193]

Never found a better explanation than this one. Top Job !

[@hamishdrewry3041]

This is a superb demo - so well presented - a testament to the effort that clearly went into the preparation.

[@lns2kor]

The best explanation of Block Chain concept with an example. Thank you and appreciate for your time and effort!

[@phuongnguyenlean4009]

millions of millions like for this video. Thank you so much!

[@yashvikhankar7454]

The only video you need to watch to understand the working of a blockchain!! Good work!

[@franknash8453]

Thanks Anders. Your demo makes it easy to understand the blockchain flow!

[@splendorman7922]

dude seriously this is the best of the best explanation ever created/visualized. you are the man! thank you!

[@alexhayworth]

This video is great - you explain things in a very clear way, and I selfishly wish you'd make a bunch more of these vids. At least, I hope you make a part 2!

[@joshuasamuel7610]

WOW!!! You really stepped out of the box with this video! Brilliant! I'm a great teacher, anointed by God to teach, and after watching many many videos on KZbin, no one really stepped out the box to explain blockchain...until now!!! Loved it! and I noticed this video has more views than all of your other videos combined...you should keep making blockchain videos :-)

[@anders94]

Thanks!

[@eugenezapata545]

Excellent explanation and very well done.

[@TrendRain]

Thank you very much. It’s been about 5 months I was looking for the explanation of blockchain, gotta to admit it, this is the best of all. Thank you

[@JavierAragones]

Thanks so much Anders. I've been reading stuff on blockchain for a week, but you finally made it all fit together. But know I have a ton of questions on how multiple parties can create new blocks without clashing. Please we need the part II of this video desperately!

[@anders94]

Thanks - part 2 will focus on public / private keys. I think you are looking for a potential part 3...

[@JavierAragones]

Hope you are not the George R. R. Martin of blockchain tutorials... : ) Seriously, keep up with the good work.

[@boulevarda.aladetoyinbo4773]

He explained that already...

[@atulsm]

Wow ! You have done the impossible of explaining block chain to mear mortals. The tool is just perfect and your passion to explain is amazing !! Thank You !

[@anders94]

Thanks - very much appreciated!

[@Vaultoro]

This is one of the best run through's I have seen. Well done!

[@samminniota]

This is the best Blockchain Explainer Video I have ever seen! Absolutely Gold! Thank you!!

[@SureshG]

Awesome..the best explanation of #blockchain that I've seen so far

[@wilfriedlarisch1684]

Eine komplizierte Technologie einfach und anschaulich erläutert. Gratuliere zu dieser didaktischen Meisterleistung!

[@anders94]

Vielen Dank!

[@thealexgalaxyoriginal]

Really good work!

[@MemoGrafix]

Thanks I needed that. I was not quite comprehending what exactly a blockchain is prior to your demonstration. I thought I had some of it figured out on other videos explaining. Yours it the best demo without all the cartoons and over-worded mish mosh of ideas.

[@ecofriend93]

Very impressive demo! Thanks! And thanks for making the code available as well.

[@movieekkfreeakk9801]

Kamal Prasad where is the code available ???

[@movieekkfreeakk9801]

Kamal Prasad I found the git page...

[@bjugdbjk]

That was a fantastic clear explanation, This should be the first video you tube should populate if they search for block-chain

[@anders94]

I have had to turn comments off on my blockchain videos due to spam. If you want to reach out to me, please find me on twitter @anders94 instead. Most of the recent comments (which I've been judiciously deleting these past few years) have been people pushing an "I can get your private keys back for you" scam which, as everyone who has watched these videos knows. is quite impossible. I hate to take such a drastic measure but I'm afraid I just don't have the time.

[@NishantGupta_Neo]

Hands down, THE Best video on Blockchain... Anywhere. Period. Kudos!

[@hg2.]

No. Min 3:00 What do you mean "this block is signed" ?????

[@anders94]

It is totally arbitrarily defined. If we work with this rule though and call a block "signed" when its hash starts with at least four zeros, we get this ability to require something that is hard to do but easy to check. This turns out to be very useful when getting a group of disinterested nodes on the internet to agree that some data is the official "correct" data.

[@hg2.]

Yes (!). I'm a newbie and I benefited greatly from you video (thanks!). The "signed" part 'sunk in' with the 2nd listening to your vid. Thank you for talking slow. These bitcoin gurus talk like auctioneers -- "just slow it down 20% if you want people to keep up with you". Am looking forward to your Part 2 video, but these can be a challenge to make. Question: other btc vids talk about "the Transaction Chain" -- I understand the concept, but is it SEPARATE from the blockchain? (I don't see why it should/would be, but other talk about it like it is separate). On the politcal from, my biggest fear is that Govt does to Bitcoin what it did to gold -- made it illegal to have/use. With Bitcoin, you just make it illegal to exchange. Counter-pressure: pressure AMAZON (and Walmart) to accept Bitcoin. (!!!!). Carry on! Bitcoin rocks!

[@anders94]

The "transaction chain" and the blockchain are the same thing. Blocks consist of transactions. Governments making use or ownership of cryptocurrencies illegal is a concern, but only to the extent that all other governments do the same. FDR made ownership of gold in the USA illegal in 1933 as a means to get more gold back into the reserve so he could print more dollars. (which at the time were backed in part by gold) This was reversed in 1974 by Ford. Other countries didn't make gold ownership illegal en masse so gold retained value elsewhere during that time. I don't think bitcoin is best suited for payments. It seems to me more like a tool for bulk settlement instead so I don't think it is likely Amazon or Walmart will accept it directly. Just a guess though.

[@hg2.]

Thank you Anders. I'm in the awkward/uncomfortable position of "preaching to the minister" about Bitcoin. First up: you obviously know more about than me; and your video above has helped out a lot in my/the-world's understanding of how Bitcoin works. That said, I URGE you and everyone in the "Bitcoin community" to pressure Amazon into using it (!) re: decentralization and mass recognition. The idea is make Bitcoin so big government wouldn't dare kill-switch it -- because that's what they want to do. Government's hatred of gold will translate into hatred of Bitcoin. If they try to kill-switch it, make the price they pay as high as possible.

[@hg2.]

Pardon the hyperbole of the previous post. I tune in to the political, and crypto's problem looks political, not technical. However, These two videos raise the concern that crypto currencies will not survive Quantum Computing. (????) The Cryptocurrency Kill Switch kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3fCZpmlp9eljrc Quantum computing explained with a deck of cards | Dario Gil, IBM Research kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6qZhYlvedOnotk

[@vittalshenoy]

A nice and precise video of explaining how blockchain-bitcoin works. Simply loved it !!!

[@CarloPizzutiChannel]

This video is AWESOME! It explains in a very simple and visual way how the blockchain (applied to Bitcoin I would say, where the blockchain represents the ledger) works. And it gives you a perfect idea of why Bitcoin is so secure, because if you wanna change something in the past, like the value of a transaction, you should change every block from that one on, and not only on that blockchain but on all the "copies" that you have around. Once again, GREAT VIDEO. Thanks!

[@TomKermode]

Well, on the majority of the copies, by the sound of it. If you can outvote the others then your truth becomes the truth.

[@RichardServello]

But the problem is...the chain that has the most work wins. So if you happen to have the largest data center in the world...you could manipulate a block chain.

[@Nemozoli]

That is the gist of the "51% attack" possibility.

[@kong2216]

This is absolutely clear to underatand for ordinary people. Thank you so much for giving nice explanation. hope you give more videos about block chain.

[@juliomundaka]

What a great explanation Anders. So glad people like you are making this kind of contribution for us all to learn this stuff better and better. Congrats!!!!!!

[@Mabitseu]

This is the best blockchain explanation ever, very logical , easy to follow and understandable. Great job.

[@lucmarcoux2144]

Finally something I can understand! thx

[@joshuasamuel7610]

I read every single comment (1st time I ever did that before) because this video was just that good, and I wanted to see what others had to say, and it's unanimous BEST BLOCKCHAIN VIDEO ON THE INTERNET! Someone should fund you to do this full time. The internet needs more of you badly!!! THUMBS UP IF YOU AGREE!

[@slemsvamp]

Thank you for this video, definitely VERY well explained, simplified and love the visual demo! :)

[@shrikantavi]

Best blockchain demo I have seen!

[@biligsaikhan]

can you show us how new blocks are created? when new bitcoin is mined how it is confirmed and transactions as well.

[@cgoobes]

This is great man. Keep it up. One of the worst things about bitcoin is that there isn't very many good educational materials. The barrier to entry into development is high. You are helping to correct this problem.

[@tigere01]

For all those who manged to thumbs down this awesome video, you are upside down.

[@kapzkya6381]

By far, the easyest to understand and te more logical way to understand how works the block chain... Congratulations and thank you!

[@DoubleBob]

So bitcoin miners don't create/compute new bitcoins, but they get rewarded bitcoins for verifying the validity of the transactions state in the block chain?

[@anders94]

Yep, that's generally the idea. Solving a block gives the miner the right to assign some new bitcoin to whatever address they like. Of course they choose an address they control so they can get the bitcoin, most likely sell it and pay their power bill and have some profit.

[@samakbari1835]

Who rewards the miners? Is there a central entity?

[@anders94]

The miners are rewarded by being allowed to take the coinbase transaction which creates new tokens out of nothing. No central entity controls this - it is simply one of the rules that all nodes on the network have agreed to abide by by running the software.

[@AlexandreLeite]

@Sam Akbari, the community that "buys" the new bitcoins. As long as demands outweighs supply, bitcoin price will increase and mining will keep profitable. It's like normal money. Central banks emit money and we "buy" it (accepting new money in economy). As long as there is enough product, prices will not rise because of that. The problem is that central banks generally abuse this process to cause a low inflation, because they believe a low inflation is a good thing to economy. Bitcoin is turning into a deflationary currency as its emission halves every four years. In the future, there will be no new bitcoins and miners will receive only transaction fees. So, many bet bitcoin prices will skyrocket to the moon.

[@admorphit]

Every bitcoin transaction also has an associated fee- the miner that solves the block also earns the fees of those transactions.

[@k4rl33]

This by far is the best didactical video ever about blockchain for beginners.

[@boulevarda.aladetoyinbo4773]

What does a "signed block" mean? Does it mean mined block?

[@anders94]

Yes. Bad choice of words on my side as it conflicts with the concept of digital signatures which I cover in the followup video. If I could go back and fix it, I would have!

[@samuelgeorge6756]

This is the way to teach this concept of blockchain. Thanks for all the effort. Much appreciated. Looking ahead for more.

[@ThuanSuBa]

Great explanation! Thanks

[@Ambrose_Heria]

Best explanation! Please make another video and dive deeper help the world understand this! Thank you so much for your time making this video!

[@YuGoCheff]

This means everyone could calculate how much money you have?

[@anders94]

Yes, blockchains are public, but in practice they don't use names of people like I do here. Stay tuned for the next video where I bring public / private key cryptography into the example.

[@mockingbird3809]

Man The BEST EXPLANATION I have Ever Seen In the KZbin on Block Chain

[@mariodian]

Great video, thanks! I sent you some bitcoins.

[@anders94]

Much appreciated!

[@Mercury2wo]

Did you really?

[@CarloPizzutiChannel]

Probably now that donations is worth thousands of $ :p

[@TheUlberg]

Carlo Pizzuti lol over $5k

[@antskaniso]

which platform are you using to solve these bitcoin blocks?

[@javiergomezlozano]

You saved me to invest much time to prepare something similar for my colleagues...thank you so much...I will recognize your contribution for sure!! Thanks again!

[@shoutitallloud]

So if someone sends me crypto-money, I have to check the chain of transactions to confirm he actually have that summ. And as far as the hashes are correct this new transaction is valid. Right? Now, I have to sign the lager with new hash, that is to mine the some "nonce" to find special type of hash? But during the mining process there can be new trasactions, so the lager changes multiple times. So when does this very moment comes a new block in chain is populated?

[@anders94]

You don't have to check the ledger to make sure the new money you got actually exists because the miners do that job. it is nice to independently verify that though. There may be many updates to the ledger. You only become more and more sure your update happened as more blocks are added to the blockchain. Sometimes the copy of the chain you have doesn't agree with others when 2 blocks are created at the same time and you ended up with the invalid chain. In these cases, the bad block(s) are removed (which is called a reorg) and the correct block(s) are added. If your transaction isn't in the newly added block it "didn't happen". That is the uncertainty. Generally though, if your transaction is 6 blocks "in the past", it will never be reorged.

[@shoutitallloud]

Thanks for reply. I found one more video about bitcoin that covers this question.

[@Deserthacker]

Hey :) Do you mind linking that exact video? I would be interested

[@Deserthacker]

shoutitallloud Thanks!

[@deepakparamanand]

do you mind sharing the link of that video??

[@samuel190192]

1 word - AWSOME !!!! THE BEST VIDEO THAT I SAW SO FAR EXPLAINING COMPLETLY THE BLOCKCHAIN

[@dcos5]

If I learned anything it's that Jackson doesn't like to give much

[@bailewen]

Seriously...far and away the best explanation I have seen. Just the right level of granularity. First time I've seen that actually got into the nuts and bolts of the thing without getting lost in the weeds ;)

[@anders94]

Thanks! Much appreciated!

[@saisatik]

That was amazing !! Thank you

[@domleary]

Best illustration of the Blockchain I’ve seen. Thank you.

[@sanjaybhatikar]

Terrific!

[@neelsharma567]

This is the best representation of block chain on the web today. Thanks for the great work !

[@cheungnicholas]

Oh my god the should be at the top of KZbin results when anyone wants to know what blockchain is!!

[@alipura146]

this is absolutely the best and easiest explanation I have ever seen.

[@oemar99]

i believe the 11 thumbsdown of this video are conventional bankers... hahaha....

[@oemar99]

a revealing video about blockchain for dummies... clean and straightforward... part 2 please...