A blockchain consists of programs called scripts that conduct the tasks you usually would in a database: entering and accessing information, and saving and storing it somewhere. A blockchain is distributed, which means multiple copies are saved on many machines, and they must all match for it to be valid.

The Bitcoin blockchain collects transaction information and enters it into a 4MB file called a block (different blockchains have different size blocks). Once the block is full, the block data is run through a cryptographic hash function, which creates a hexadecimal number called the block header hash.