blockchain

noun

block·​chain ˈbläk-ˌchān 

: a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network

also : the technology used to create such a database

The technology at the heart of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.

—Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Examples of blockchain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These persistent issues continue to hinder blockchain’s scalability and usability across industries. —Ayush Gupta, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

Crypto’s anonymous nature poses unique challenges in understanding exactly what is happening—transactions on a blockchain are typically posted using long strings of numbers known as addresses, rather than verified by legal name. —Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025

But services on the blockchain are still vulnerable to implementation and design flaws. —Mingyi Liu, The Conversation, 8 May 2025

Stablecoin revenue growth in the second quarter is likely to be more than offset by lower blockchain rewards due to lower asset prices, the company said. —Tanaya MacHeel,christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC, 8 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2011, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blockchain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• butane
• campaign
• cetane