Merkle tree, also known as ‘Merkle Tree’, is the way in which the shape of the data is designed to resemble a tree in the case of visualization. Merkle tree is a process for securely encoding blockchain data in cryptocurrencies.
The Merkle tree was discovered by Ralph Merkle and named after him. Ralph Merkle also invented the cryptographic hashing system.
Merkle tree system provides a great advantage in terms of speed, efficiency and safety in the area where it is used. Due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain, it is not possible to change or manipulate the data. Therefore, it is an important point in the blockchain network.
Merkle tree can be used to verify all kinds of data stored and processed in computers. They help us understand whether the data received from person to person is undamaged, unaltered. In other words, the accuracy of these blocks is understood by the merkle tree.
Merkle tree also has a very important place for miners. This data provides convenience in the process of making transactions by enabling miners who perform various transactions to verify without in-depth analysis.
The advantages of the Merkle tree are:
- It helps to verify the information of a blockchain.
- It makes the blockchain light in terms of space requirement, thus making the blockchain fast and light.
- It makes the blockchain secure.
How Does the Merkle Tree Work?
The Merkle tree is made up of hash hashes in blocks. At the bottom of the Merkle tree is the transaction data. The hash code of this data is obtained by running the hash function. Then, the values at the bottom of the hash chart are added to each other. The resulting value is added to the lines above. As a result of this process, the merkle tree is formed. At the end of the process, the hash code formed in the diagram above is expressed in terms such as root hash or merke root. The calculated root hash code reflects whether there are errors in the blocks. If there is a mismatch in the values that make up the root hash, the algorithm in the system continues to operate with hash functions until it creates an error-free merkle root.
