Merkle Hash Tree Referenz
Referenz für Merkle tree constructions verwendet in blockchains, Datei Systeme, und certificate transparency.
Tree Construction
A Merkle tree hashes leaf data into a root hash through a binary tree of pairwise hash computations. Each internal node hashes the concatenation of its two children. The root commit summarizes all leaves, enabling efficient integrity verification. A Merkle proof reveals O(log n) sibling hashes to verify a single leaf against the root. This enables lightweight clients (SPV) in blockchain systems.
- root
- Summary of all leaves
- proof
- O(log n) siblings
- verification
- Recompute path to root
single hashmembership proofSPV clientsApplications and Variants
Bitcoin uses Merkle trees to summarize transactions in block headers. Certificate Transparency logs use Merkle trees to make append-only certificate logs auditable. Merkle Mountain Ranges support append-only logs with efficient proofs. Sparse Merkle trees represent key-value stores with default empty values. The choice of hash (double-SHA256 in Bitcoin, RFC 6962 in CT) affects security and performance.
- Bitcoin
- Double-SHA256 tree
- CT logs
- RFC 6962 tree
- sparse
- Key-value with defaults
tx summaryappend-only auditEthereum state