A Cryptographic Hash Function is a mathematical algorithm that takes input data and produces a fixed-size string of characters, usually a series of letters and numbers. This function is designed to be one-way, meaning it is easy to compute the output value from the input data, but extremely difficult to reverse-engineer the input data from the output value.
In cryptocurrency, hash functions are used to secure transactions and data stored on the blockchain. Each block in the blockchain contains a hash of the previous block, creating a chain of blocks linked together by cryptographic hashes. This makes it very difficult for anyone to tamper with the data in a block without being detected, as even a small change to the data would result in a completely different hash value.
Overall, Cryptographic Hash Functions play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity and security of the blockchain network by providing a way to verify the accuracy of data and transactions without the need for a central authority.
