A Brief Guide to Cryptographic Hash Functions

Hash functions are one of the most important things in blockchain technology. It helps in securing the data stored in the blockchains. The property immutability is all depended on hashing (hash functioning).

Today we are discussing cryptographic hash functions. Consider this article as a basic guide. Continue reading to know more.



What is Hashing?

It is the transformation of an input string of characters into a usually shorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string. Talking about cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the transactions are denoted as input and run through a hashing algorithm that provides an output of a fixed length. Bitcoin usually uses SHA-256 (Secure Hashing Algorithm 256). 

In the case of SHA 256, the length of the inputs doesn’t matter as the output is fixed in 256 bits length. So, instead of recollecting the input data, you have to remember the hash and keep track.

Properties of cryptographic hash functions

1. Deterministic: You will get the same result every time for any particular input processed through hash functions.

2. Fast Computation: The hash functions must quickly make the keys for the inputs. For an efficient process, the hashing must be fast too.

3. Pre-Image Resistance: According to Wikipedia, “In cryptography, a preimage attack on cryptographic hash functions tries to find a message that has a specific hash value. A cryptographic hash function should resist attacks on its preimage.

In the context of the attack, there are two types of preimage resistance:

Preimage resistance: for essentially all pre-specified outputs, it is computationally infeasible to find any input that hashes to that output, i.e., given y, it is difficult to find an x such that
h(x) = y.
Second-preimage resistance: it is computationally infeasible to find any second input which has the same output as that of a specified input, i.e., given x, it is difficult to find a second preimage x′ ≠ x such that h(x) = h(x′).”

4. The Avalanche Effect: The small changes in the input are reflected as huge in the hash.

5. Collision Resistant: For two different inputs, most parts of hash be unique.

Having a basic idea about the cryptographic hash functions will let you understand the amount of time and calculations are required to make every code work. Constant innovation is going on, so, newer algorithms may come along in the future to the help the blockchain technology development. Till then, we have to study more to understand the processes.

We offer an A-Z solution to the ICO and bitcoin struggle. if you need any assistance regarding blockchain app development and want to know about the whole launch process.

Why should you really care about blockchain technology?

The global blockchain market is expected to be $20 billion by 2024. Blockchain technology is evolving and it is going to stay for really long. This is the high time that you should really care about it for a better business process.

To clear your idea more, remember bitcoin and blockchain technology are a different concept. Understanding blockchain will help you to understand how this technology will it serve different industries.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain technology is a digital ledger which works as a series of a block that contains information, chained together to offer a reliable and secure accounting for any particular field of work. In a block the information shared is encrypted, confirmed and distributed to a number of linked computers (in the network which are known as nodes). This ledger is secure and tamper-proof. The activities such as transactions, exchanging cryptocurrency, medical records, shareholder records, agreements are some of the best uses so far. However, it has a huge potential.

Benefits :
·    Data management: Strong verification process for better data management.
·   Logistics: Goods can be traced to their origin which offers company and consumers better transparency.

·  Investing: It provides a strong space for crowd-based funding and other investment.
·  Internet of Things: Offers an infrastructure to assign automation for remote systems as many IoT devices come with some privacy concerns.

 ·   Security: Decentralize data makes it easy to save files in multiple locations.

What is Bitcoin?

In simple words, it is a digital currency exists in codes (encrypted) form. It is one of the most popular cryptocurrency. Users can use high-end computing hardware to mine bitcoin. There is a limited supply of bitcoin as it requires a lot of computer resources and time. In 2017, a single bitcoin was worth about $17,112 USD. It is a viable currency online for many e-commerce.

How bitcoin works over blockchain?

Let’s assume that Mr. A wants to send money to Mr. B. Initially, they both need a bitcoin “wallets” as it works as software to use blockchain. A wallet is just an access door.

Mr. A uses his cryptographic key to request the transaction. The cryptographic key is transforming plain text into coded one. The key is private and ensures high security. This is the main part of the cryptographic operation. Mr. A’s request is joining the other requests or orders in a block, containing a cryptographic sign or hash of the previous block, a timestamp and transaction data too. This ensures that a block is linked to other blocks and can’t be altered separately.

The requests are then analyzed by others in the network. They check whether Mr. A really has the bitcoin to spend to Mr. B. If everything is okay, miners on the network will initiate the request with other similar transaction to form a new block. The block is marked with a date and it is added to the chain over the network. Finally, Mr. B receives his money.

We at Sphinx Solutions are working on the blockchain app development, wallet development, smart contracts and many more. We are an experienced IT team offers the best solution to the different industry. Curious to know more, contact us to take this forward.

The Journey of Cryptocurrency

This article talks about the journey of cryptocurrencies and their potential.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency have traveled an uncertain path to worldwide popularity. Many people are showing interest in the blockchain development even if they are not investing in cryptocurrencies.

1^st phase

The US subprime mortgage crisis was a banking emergency that affected the world economy. To prevent any such kind of event from happening again, Mr. Satoshi Nakamoto (real name not known) created a decentralized virtual currency called Bitcoin. And bitcoin is backed by blockchain technology which is transparent, unalterable, and eliminated from third parties like bank, government and any financial institution from the transaction process.

Initially, it served as a payment medium. This publicly verifiable virtual money gradually became popular among the IT developers. Eventually, innovation of other new cryptocurrency started flowing which helped to engage a broader audience.

2^nd Phase

Vitalik Buterin (Russian-Canadian programmer) came up with wider use of blockchain technology which is commonly known as Smart Contracts. And the platform is Ethereum. Certainly, Ethereum is more than just a coin. The IT intellectuals started reviewing the potential of this distributed ledger technology. Ethereum revolutionized and decentralized the internet. Thus, Decentralized Apps (DApps), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) came into being.

The developers from different parts of the world started experimenting to launch their own tokens and raise money from the public with ICO (Initial Coin Offerings).

Five Tips to Launch a Successful ICO

3^rd Phase

Scalable and practical, the 3rd phase of Blockchain technology is in its infancy. It's been predicted that in 2019-2020, there will be a blockchain of blockchains with millions of transactions per second. It will be enormous that includes organizational structures like cities and connected to the other bodies.

Cryptocurrencies have made a dramatic leap in terms of innovation and adoption in past few years. The tokenization of many businesses across different industries will open a wide opportunity for economic growth.

We at Sphinx Solutions, are working on Blockchain App Development and ICO services. Our experienced developers are thoroughly acquainted with the full development stack. You can rely on us for scalable Cryptocurrency Wallet, Hyperledger, Bitcoin apps & private blockchain development services.