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Blockchain 101 - A Visual Demo

Anders Brownworth · 3.3M views · 2016-11-05 · 17:50

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Overview

Anders Brownworth gives a basic visual introduction to blockchain using an interactive web demo, covering SHA256 hashes, blocks, chains, distribution, tokens and coinbase transactions.

On Hacker News

HN repeatedly recommends it as the best ground-up, non-hype introduction for people who want to understand what a blockchain actually is.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2017–2025

Topics

CryptographyAlgorithms & data structures
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blockchainsha256hashingbitcoinvisual demo

What people said

andreasklinger · 2017-10 · Strong recommendation

My favorite: [VIDEO] It explains from ground up without getting complicated - it basically demystifies the whole thing completely i give this to everyone - even to non technical people

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dave7 · 2017-08 · Strong recommendation

This is much more basic than academic level, for which you could maybe start with the original Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin white paper? - but this video is a fantastic introduction [VIDEO]

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phn · 2018-02 · Recommendation

If you're really wondering what a blockchain actually is, this video is a really good intro: [VIDEO] If you want something a bit more hands-on, I'm currently following this course: [LINK] I have only made it through the first section, and it does a really good job of explaining the basics of Ethereum and what a smart contract actually is.

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Sources

Video by Anders Brownworth, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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