GlossaryAdvanced
Merkle Tree
A data structure that efficiently summarizes many transactions into a single hash.
A Merkle tree combines the hashes of many individual transactions into pairs, then hashes those pairs together repeatedly until a single hash, called the Merkle root, represents the entire set.
This structure lets a node verify that a specific transaction is included in a block without needing to download and check every other transaction in that block.
Examples
- A block header typically stores only the Merkle root, not every individual transaction hash.
- Merkle proofs let lightweight wallets verify a transaction without running a full node.