Blockchain

A blockchain is a shared digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers, so that no single party controls it and the history is extremely hard to rewrite. Each batch of transactions is grouped into a block, cryptographically linked to the block before it, and copied to every participant - which is why the record is called "distributed."

Three properties make it useful for real-world assets. It is append-only: once a block is confirmed, altering it would mean redoing every block after it on a majority of machines at once. It is transparent: anyone can verify balances and transfers on a public chain. And it is programmable, through a smart contract - code that runs on the ledger and enforces rules automatically.

Ethereum is the most widely used blockchain for tokenized assets, because its smart contracts can encode the ownership and transfer rules a regulated security needs. Bitcoin, by contrast, was designed mainly to move its own currency.

When an asset is tokenized, the blockchain holds the authoritative record of who owns each token - not a spreadsheet at a single company. You can inspect that record yourself on a block explorer.

A blockchain does not make an asset trustworthy on its own. It secures the record of ownership; it says nothing about whether the off-chain asset behind a token is real, legally enforceable, or well managed. The ledger is only as honest as what gets written to it.

Source: Ethereum docs (ethereum.org), as of 2026.