Master Blockchain explains how blockchain works and where it belongs in the wider world of digital technology. Follow a first-principles route through information, networks, databases, cryptography, consensus, software, security and real applications. Each published English article has a separate Simplified Chinese sibling with the same core explanation and a direct language switch.
The full learning route contains 100 topics, designed as 100 English articles and 100 Chinese articles. The library currently contains the first two complete topic pairs: four articles. The remaining topics below show the intended learning sequence and are not yet published articles. Only available articles have reading links.
Start with the first two guides · Choose a reading route · The 100-topic learning route · Primary references for the opening guides
Start with the first two guides
| Topic | Read the guide | Sibling version |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Is Blockchain? A First-Principles Guide | 简体中文 |
| 2 | Where Blockchain Fits in the Wider Technology Stack | 简体中文 |
Choose a reading route
New readers can begin with the definition, then widen the view to the whole technology system. Readers evaluating a proposal should focus on the trust assumptions and compare a shared database, signed event logs and a blockchain. Teachers can follow the microscope example through both guides, asking learners to explain one normal transfer and one failure before introducing more terminology.
Learn through one concrete problem
A school, a laboratory and a maintenance company share a microscope. Each needs to know who holds it, whether it is available and which record to rely on. This fictional scenario makes the technology visible: a transaction proposes a change; a signature supports authorisation; rules determine whether the change is valid; coordination establishes an accepted history. The example also exposes the limits. A correct ledger cannot independently prove that a physical delivery occurred, repair a stolen key or make an unclear agreement fair.
How the English and Chinese versions work
Each language has its own readable page. English terms are explained in context, and the Chinese articles use Simplified Chinese with useful English technical names where needed. The Chinese version preserves examples, assumptions and limitations; it is not a short summary of the English version. China-related policy discussions identify the date and scope of original sources rather than treating technology policy as blanket approval for every service.
The 100-topic learning route
Open a subject group to see its ten topics. Read the groups in order for a broad foundation, or return to a group when a practical question makes it relevant. Unlinked titles identify later topics in the route, not live pages.
01. Foundations and the wider system
Begin with the coordination problem, then learn how digital information, networks and databases already solve many parts of it. Separate distributed computing from distributed control. The test for this group is whether you can describe a need without naming a product and explain why a blockchain may or may not fit.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 001 | What Is Blockchain? A First-Principles Guide | Read now |
| 002 | Where Blockchain Fits in the Wider Technology Stack | Read now |
| 003 | Digital Information: Bits, Files and Copies | Not yet published |
| 004 | How the Internet Moves Messages | Not yet published |
| 005 | Databases, Ledgers and Audit Trails | Not yet published |
| 006 | Centralised, Distributed and Decentralised Systems | Not yet published |
| 007 | What Trust Means in a Technical System | Not yet published |
| 008 | Blockchain, DLT and Cryptocurrency: Different Concepts | Not yet published |
| 009 | Public, Private and Consortium Blockchains | Not yet published |
| 010 | When an Ordinary Database Is the Better Choice | Not yet published |
02. Cryptography and verifiable evidence
Build from hashes and signatures towards commitments, zero-knowledge proofs and key recovery. For each mechanism, ask exactly what it proves and what remains outside its scope. A valid signature does not establish every fact about the signer, and a matching hash does not establish the truth of a document.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 011 | Hash Functions and Digital Fingerprints | Not yet published |
| 012 | Encryption Is Not Hashing | Not yet published |
| 013 | Public Keys, Private Keys and Digital Signatures | Not yet published |
| 014 | Merkle Proofs: Verifying One Record in a Large Set | Not yet published |
| 015 | Randomness, Entropy and Secure Key Generation | Not yet published |
| 016 | Commitments: Proving You Chose Before Revealing | Not yet published |
| 017 | Zero-Knowledge Proofs from First Principles | Not yet published |
| 018 | Threshold Signatures and Multisignature Approval | Not yet published |
| 019 | Key Rotation, Revocation and Recovery | Not yet published |
| 020 | Quantum Computing and Cryptographic Migration | Not yet published |
03. Distributed systems and agreement
Explore why replicas can disagree and how protocols respond to delays, conflicting proposals and faulty participants. Distinguish validity, ordering, finality and availability. The learning goal is to identify a protocol's assumptions rather than treating all consensus mechanisms as interchangeable.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 021 | Nodes, Peers and Network Discovery | Not yet published |
| 022 | Replication and the Problem of Conflicting Copies | Not yet published |
| 023 | Consensus, Validity and Transaction Ordering | Not yet published |
| 024 | Byzantine Faults and Fault-Tolerant Agreement | Not yet published |
| 025 | Proof of Work: Cost, Competition and Security | Not yet published |
| 026 | Proof of Stake: Validators, Incentives and Penalties | Not yet published |
| 027 | Finality, Confirmations and Reorganisations | Not yet published |
| 028 | Sybil Attacks and Admission Rules | Not yet published |
| 029 | Network Partitions, Delays and Availability | Not yet published |
| 030 | Forks, Client Diversity and Protocol Upgrades | Not yet published |
04. Blockchain mechanics and network examples
Follow transactions into blocks and state changes, then compare different implementations. Learn how independent verification differs from trusting an interface. Bitcoin, Ethereum and permissioned enterprise systems are case studies with distinct choices, not universal templates for every ledger.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 031 | Anatomy of a Block | Not yet published |
| 032 | From Signed Request to Confirmed Transaction | Not yet published |
| 033 | UTXO and Account Models | Not yet published |
| 034 | State Transitions and Deterministic Execution | Not yet published |
| 035 | Mempools, Fees and Block Space | Not yet published |
| 036 | Full Nodes, Light Clients and Independent Verification | Not yet published |
| 037 | Bitcoin as an Engineering Case Study | Not yet published |
| 038 | Ethereum as an Engineering Case Study | Not yet published |
| 039 | Permissioned Ledgers and Hyperledger Fabric | Not yet published |
| 040 | Reading a Block Explorer Without Being Misled | Not yet published |
05. Smart contracts and application engineering
Move from a written business rule to an executable condition, then examine testing, external inputs, upgrades and failure cases. A program that handles the normal path is only a beginning. Ask who can change it, what authority it exercises and how users recover when assumptions fail.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 041 | Smart Contracts: Rules That Execute | Not yet published |
| 042 | Virtual Machines and Execution Environments | Not yet published |
| 043 | Solidity Concepts for First-Time Readers | Not yet published |
| 044 | Tokens, Interfaces and Technical Standards | Not yet published |
| 045 | Oracles and the Boundary of External Truth | Not yet published |
| 046 | Events, Indexers and Application Data | Not yet published |
| 047 | Contract Upgrades and Administrator Powers | Not yet published |
| 048 | Testing Contracts with Invariants | Not yet published |
| 049 | Reentrancy, Permissions and Common Contract Failures | Not yet published |
| 050 | Audits, Formal Verification and Their Limits | Not yet published |
06. Wallets, security and privacy
Study how people authorise actions and how that authority can be stolen, misunderstood or lost. Separate the network's security from the safety of the application and interface. Develop the habit of locating the actual failure: key control, permissions, software, external data or operational process.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 051 | What a Wallet Actually Does | Not yet published |
| 052 | Seed Phrases, Backups and Recovery Design | Not yet published |
| 053 | Custody, Self-Custody and Shared Control | Not yet published |
| 054 | Signing, Approvals and Transaction Simulation | Not yet published |
| 055 | Phishing, Impersonation and Interface Security | Not yet published |
| 056 | Hardware Security and Offline Key Storage | Not yet published |
| 057 | Account Abstraction and Usable Recovery | Not yet published |
| 058 | Incident Response and Containment | Not yet published |
| 059 | Threat Modelling a Blockchain Application | Not yet published |
| 060 | Privacy Leakage Through Public Metadata | Not yet published |
07. Scaling and interoperability
Understand why shared execution and replicated data have costs. Compare channels, rollups, sidechains and bridges by their trust boundaries. A larger throughput claim is not sufficient: examine finality, data availability, withdrawal conditions and the components that retain special powers.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 061 | Why Blockchains Have Scaling Limits | Not yet published |
| 062 | Execution, Settlement and Data Availability | Not yet published |
| 063 | Payment Channels and the Lightning Network | Not yet published |
| 064 | Optimistic Rollups and Challenge Periods | Not yet published |
| 065 | Validity Rollups and Proof Verification | Not yet published |
| 066 | Sidechains, Appchains and Security Boundaries | Not yet published |
| 067 | Bridges and Cross-Chain Trust Assumptions | Not yet published |
| 068 | Data Availability Sampling and Modular Design | Not yet published |
| 069 | MEV, Ordering Power and Fairness | Not yet published |
| 070 | Measuring Throughput, Latency and Real Cost | Not yet published |
08. Applications, assets and real-world meaning
Evaluate tokenisation, payments, supply chains, credentials and evidence. Separate a digital representation from the rights or facts it describes. Every use case should face a non-blockchain comparison and explain who connects the digital record to the real-world outcome.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 071 | Tokenisation and the Rights Behind a Token | Not yet published |
| 072 | Stablecoins, Reserves and Redemption | Not yet published |
| 073 | Digital Money: Bank Deposits, CBDCs and Tokens | Not yet published |
| 074 | Automated Market Makers and Liquidity Pools | Not yet published |
| 075 | Collateral, Lending and Liquidation | Not yet published |
| 076 | Supply-Chain Provenance and the Input Problem | Not yet published |
| 077 | Digital Identity and Verifiable Credentials | Not yet published |
| 078 | Certificates, Records and Evidence Preservation | Not yet published |
| 079 | Intellectual Property, NFTs and Licensing | Not yet published |
| 080 | Comparing Use Cases Against Non-Blockchain Alternatives | Not yet published |
09. Connections to cloud, AI, IoT and education
Place blockchain beside the technologies that make a complete service possible. AI predictions, sensor observations and shared records answer different questions. Trace one event through the whole system and identify what each component knows, assumes and is authorised to do.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 081 | Blockchain and Cloud Infrastructure | Not yet published |
| 082 | Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence | Not yet published |
| 083 | AI Agents, Delegated Authority and Payment Controls | Not yet published |
| 084 | IoT Sensors, Signed Readings and Physical Reality | Not yet published |
| 085 | Digital Twins and Shared Operational Records | Not yet published |
| 086 | APIs, ERP Systems and Enterprise Integration | Not yet published |
| 087 | Privacy Engineering and Off-Chain Data | Not yet published |
| 088 | Education Credentials and Learner Privacy | Not yet published |
| 089 | Energy, Hardware and Environmental Measurement | Not yet published |
| 090 | Building a Safe Classroom Blockchain Simulation | Not yet published |
10. Governance, China context and system design
Bring the technical pieces together through standards, policy reading, procurement and a capstone architecture review. Distinguish dated policy objectives from achieved outcomes and current obligations. The final goal is a defensible design decision, including the ability to explain why a simpler architecture is sufficient.
View these ten topics
| No. | Topic | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 091 | Governance: Who Can Change the Rules? | Not yet published |
| 092 | Standards, Interoperability and Vendor Dependence | Not yet published |
| 093 | Understanding China's Blockchain Technology Landscape | Not yet published |
| 094 | Reading China Policy and Regulatory Sources Carefully | Not yet published |
| 095 | Cross-Border Data and Jurisdiction Questions | Not yet published |
| 096 | Business Cases, Procurement and Total Cost | Not yet published |
| 097 | Evaluating Claims, Benchmarks and White Papers | Not yet published |
| 098 | A Project Architecture Review from First Principles | Not yet published |
| 099 | Research Frontiers and Unsolved Problems | Not yet published |
| 100 | Master Blockchain: Capstone System Design | Not yet published |
Four questions to carry through the entire series
What problem requires shared agreement? What can each participant verify independently? Which assumptions or authorities remain? What happens when the data, software, keys or organisations fail? Returning to these questions turns a collection of technical terms into a coherent way to evaluate systems.
Primary references for the opening guides
The articles link the specific sources supporting their explanations. The references below provide broad starting points; platform documents describe their own implementations, and dated policy documents should be read within their stated scope.
NIST — Blockchain Technology Overview
Bitcoin — Original design paper
Ethereum — Developer documentation
Hyperledger Fabric — Introduction
W3C — Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0