Merkle Tree

A simple implementation of a Merkle Tree in Java.

Overview

A Merkle Tree is a cryptographic data structure used in blockchain technology to efficiently and securely verify the integrity of data. This Java implementation demonstrates how to construct a Merkle Tree and obtain its root hash.

How It Works

1. Hash Transactions:

   Takes a list of transactions. Each transaction is hashed using SHA-256.

2. Pair and Hash:

   Pairs of adjacent transaction hashes are concatenated and hashed to form the next level and builds a hierarchical structure of hashes.

3. Repeat:

   This process is repeated until only one hash remains, which is the Merkle Root hash.

Illustration of Merkle Tree

         Merkle Root
        /            \
    hash 0          hash 1
   /      \        /      \
hash 0-0 hash 0-1 hash 1-0 hash 1-1
   |        |        |        |
  tx1      tx2      tx3      tx4

Conclusion

This implementation demonstrates the basic concept of a Merkle Tree, which is essential in verifying data integrity in distributed systems like blockchain.