How does the Blockchain Work? (Part 1)

Update: July 22, 2017: I want to thank the 175,000+ people that have read this article, and due to the high volume of questions I get on a daily basis, I’ve decided to add some direction to this post, which is a now a 4 part series.

If you really want to get into the blockchain and cryptocurrency world, I would highly recommend that you start your journey by reading these two white papers:

Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System and;

Ethereum: A Next-Generation Smart Contract and Decentralized Application Platform
and then read them again….and again…
Many of you have been asking questions like: “I have an idea and I want to know if my project is suitable for a blockchain”. — read these two papers, plus

How to hire a blockchain developer. 
or;

“I’m looking for investments and I want to know if this token or that token will go up in value” — read these two papers.

I wish you all the best on your journey….and here we go — ->
How does the Blockchain Work?

Well here is a simple explanation that cuts through the hype.