A blockchain is an append-only ledger that a network of independent computers agrees on without a central referee. Each block packs a batch of transactions, a timestamp, and a cryptographic fingerprint of the block before it. Change one byte in an old block and every fingerprint after it breaks, so history becomes tamper-evident by construction. BC44 does not run a chain. It listens to all six of them and turns raw on-chain state into a decision.
Block N-1
Parent
A sealed batch of transactions.
hash · 9f3a…c102
Block N
Current
Carries the parent hash, so it points backward.
prev · 9f3a…c102
hash · 4be7…81da
Block N+1
Next
Built on N. The chain only grows forward.
prev · 4be7…81da
hash · d20c…77ff
Hashing and Merkle linkage
Every transaction is hashed, then hashes are paired upward into a Merkle tree until one root remains. That root sits in the block header, so verifying a single transaction never needs the whole block. This is the math that makes tampering detectable.
Consensus and finality
Proof of Work spends electricity to order blocks; Proof of Stake bonds capital instead and slashes bad actors. Either way the network converges on one history. Finality is the point past which a block is treated as permanent, seconds on fast chains, minutes on slower ones.
Mempool and the race
Before a transaction is mined it waits in the mempool, a public lobby of pending intent. New launches, large buys, and liquidity moves are visible here first. Reading the mempool and fresh blocks fast is most of the edge in spotting a token at second one.
Bonding curves
Launchpads like pump.fun price a new token along a bonding curve: price rises automatically as supply is bought from the curve. When enough is bought, the token graduates and real liquidity is seeded on a DEX. BC44 tracks both the curve phase and the graduation moment.
AMMs and liquidity pools
A pool holds two assets and prices swaps with a constant-product formula, no order book needed. The depth of that pool decides slippage and whether a buy route even exists. BC44 reads pool reserves directly to know if a token is tradable, not just listed.
DEX routing
An aggregator splits a trade across pools to find the best execution. BC44 asks the router for a real quote before it ever surfaces a buy route, so a signal is only sent when a working path with acceptable slippage actually exists on that chain.