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

Wale Ayeni is the managing partner of Helios Digital Ventures, which has invested in disruptive technologies including blockchain companies. —Wale Ayeni, semafor.com, 14 July 2025

The blockchain analytics firm has since ceased tracking this metric, citing other commitments to clients. —Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 11 July 2025

The transfers—spotted by blockchain tracking services Whale Alert and Lookonchain—mark the first time the assets have been touched in 14 years. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025

In another scheme, North Korean IT workers used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal over $900,000 in virtual currency. —Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 4 July 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