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LEARN / Blockchain and shared state
Different chains. Shared questions.
Explore Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, Solana, Circle Arc and ArcBlock Chain through transactions, authorization and settlement. Connect each design to the application around it.
Start this learning pathChoose a starting point
- 01From records to evidence
Five questions about records, signatures, facts and consensus.
Start with a concrete question5 questions - 02Understand the layers of blockchain
From shared state and consensus to chains, OCAP and DIDs.
From mechanisms to systems18 questions - 03Identity, permission and a way out
Eight questions about accounts, credentials, delegation, recovery and migration.
Understand control through everyday tasks8 questions - 04Understand Bitcoin through a payment
Follow spendable outputs, signing conditions and confirmations before comparing application designs.
6 questions - 05Understand Ethereum execution and settlement
Trace a contract call, its execution cost and the settlement boundary of a rollup.
11 questions - 06Understand Solana accounts and instructions
Identify program ownership, transaction boundaries and the role of ordering evidence.
5 questions - 07Explore Circle Arc and its application boundaries
Learn USDC gas and network selection, then check portability and privacy status.
8 questions - 08Connect ArcBlock Chain to identity and applications
Separate account identity, transaction authority and the runtime hosting an application.
10 questions - 09Understand Base from authorization to settlement
Connect Ethereum accounts, L2 execution, fees and withdrawal.
8 questions
Explore the connections
Each explanation stands on its own. “Builds on” links show the background it uses.
Blockchain and shared state
Concepts, products and related approaches
- What does a blockchain let participants agree on?
Two requests can be signed correctly and still conflict. Their order matters.
- How does Bitcoin prevent an output being spent twice?
Understand UTXOs, independent validation and accumulated work.
- What do hashes and signatures prove?
Checking whether a file changed is different from checking who signed it.
- How does Ethereum change shared state?
Separate execution rules from consensus.
- Why can’t a blockchain guarantee truthful inputs?
Recording a claim and checking the event it describes are different jobs.
Builds on ↑What do hashes and signatures prove? - How do Solana programs and accounts divide the work?
Understand a chain through data and execution.
- When is a database enough?
Identify the conflict that needs shared resolution before choosing a chain.
- Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS?
Participation, fork choice and confirmation need separate answers.
- What does proof of work prove?
A cheap-to-check result reflects a costly search.
Builds on ↑Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS? - How does proof of stake organize validation?
Stake and protocol duties are different from identity authentication.
Builds on ↑Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS? - What does Byzantine fault tolerance tolerate?
Faults can include conflicting messages, not just silence.
Builds on ↑Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS? - Why does “immutable” need conditions?
Receiving a transaction, including it in a block and finalizing history provide different evidence.
Builds on ↑Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS? - How does Proof of History differ from consensus?
Ordering evidence and acceptance of history are related but distinct.
Builds on ↑Why is consensus more than PoW or PoS? - Which layer does OCAP unify?
Unified chain access does not merge chains.
- How does ArcBlock Chain differ from ARC?
Separate shared on-chain records from application execution.
- Must a DID depend on a blockchain?
Identifiers and verifiable registries can combine without being synonyms.
- What is a smart contract?
Code and state executed under a blockchain’s rules.
- Are dApps and Blocklets the same thing?
Separate decentralization properties from application packaging and execution.
- How do crypto payments fit an application?
Map network transaction state to an order without conflating them.
- What is decentralization?
Look beyond machine counts to authority, rules and user choice.
- Who controls coordination?
Separate shared rules, coordination services and ultimate authority.
Builds on ↑What is decentralization? - Can you switch services?
Test whether records, identity and application relationships survive a move.
Builds on ↑What is decentralization? - What remains usable when a service closes?
Separate exporting, verifying, continued access and running a replacement.
Builds on ↑Are dApps and Blocklets the same thing? - Bitcoin UTXOs: where change comes from
Follow one output through a payment and its change.
- Bitcoin Script: conditions for spending
Distinguish spending conditions from application hosting.
- Ethereum gas: why failed calls still cost
Separate execution work, transaction value and fees.
Builds on ↑How does Ethereum change shared state? - Ethereum rollups: which confirmation matters?
Distinguish an L2 response from settlement and withdrawal.
Builds on ↑How does Ethereum change shared state? - Solana account ownership: who may edit data?
Separate an owner program from a human holding a key.
- Solana transactions: several instructions, one result
Learn atomic execution without assuming free failure.
- Circle Arc: a blockchain for stablecoin applications
Understand the network, then distinguish it from ArcBlock ARC.
- Circle Arc gas: USDC pays for execution
Distinguish a fee asset from a fixed fee promise.
- Circle Arc finality: what a committed block proves
Separate consensus finality from application delivery.
- Circle Arc mainnet, testnet and official tools
Find the correct network, explorer and test faucet.
- Porting to Circle Arc: what EVM compatibility leaves to check
Check value semantics before reusing Ethereum code.
- Circle Arc privacy and personal data storage
Separate confidential execution plans from a data space.
- ArcBlock transactions: envelope and operation
Read the signed outer record and its typed inner operation.
Builds on ↑How does ArcBlock Chain differ from ARC? - ArcBlock delegation: permission without sharing a key
Understand operation-scoped delegation and revocation.
Builds on ↑How does ArcBlock Chain differ from ARC? - ArcBlock accounts, wallets and DID
Separate signing tools, ledger records and identifiers.
Builds on ↑How does ArcBlock Chain differ from ARC? - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Circle Arc, Base and ArcBlock
Compare state, execution and application responsibilities.
- Layer 2: what is inherited from Ethereum?
Separate settlement dependence from a connection through a bridge.
Builds on ↑How does Ethereum change shared state? - Base: an Ethereum Layer 2 in practice
Follow the path from an L2 transaction to Ethereum.
Builds on ↑Layer 2: what is inherited from Ethereum? - ArcBridge: connecting ArcBlock and Ethereum
Understand the bridge without confusing it with an entire L2 chain.
- Ethereum and ArcBlock: applications and assets
Compare responsibilities, then examine the bridge between them.
- ArcBlock Multi IO: several inputs and outputs, one transaction
Compare a transfer format with a model of spendable outputs.
- Ethereum accounts: what does a signature authorize?
Separate the wallet, account record, signed request and contract permission.
Builds on ↑How does Ethereum change shared state?