In this post, we will demystify Merkle trees using three examples of problems they solve: Maintaining integrity of files stored on Dropbox.com, or file outsourcing, Proving a transaction between Alice and Bob occurred, or set membership, Transmitting files over unreliable channels, or anti-entropy. $$ \def\mht{\mathsf{MHT}} \def\mrh{h_{\mathsf{root}}} \def\vect#1{\boldsymbol{\vec{#1}}} $$ By the...
