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

The tools then create an independently verifiable timestamp by writing that fingerprint to a blockchain. —Jacob Wolinsky, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

In 2021, Prada Group and Compagnie Financière Richemont joined LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which in 2019 initiated the Aura platform, promoting the use of a single blockchain solution open to all luxury brands worldwide. —Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2025

Most blockchain analysts estimate that Nakamoto mined about 1 million Bitcoin between 2009 and 2010. —Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025

The majority of traders have recorded losses, collectively losing more than $20 million, says blockchain analytics company Nansen. Winner of more than 20 Grammy Awards, West has become increasingly unmoored and erratic in his behavior in recent years. —Joel Khalili, Wired News, 21 Aug. 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