# Blockchain

As most crypto currencies, Graphene makes use of a blockchain to update
participants about transfers and market activities. Since blocks always refer to
the previous block, we get a chain of blocks (blockchain) that contains all
transactions every made in the network. Because the blockchain is a publicly
accessible and auditable ledger, everyone can take a closer look and verify
transfers as well as market orders and order books.

Of course, this web wallet offers a block explorer to assist you with your
audit.

## Consensus Mechanism

Who exactly is allows to *produce* a block at which time instant is defined by a
consensus mechanism called *Delegated Proof of Stake*. In essence, the
shareholders of BitShares (holders of the BTS token) can cast a vote for their
preferred block producers on the blockchain. Those so called *witnesses* with
the most votes are allowed to produce blocks.

## Transactions

The Graphene blockchain technology offers a variety of transaction types. Users
are not only able to simply transfer assets between each other, but there are
also transactions to interact with the decentralized exchange. Most of these
transaction types are labeled with a self-explaining tag, others require more
knowledge about the inner workings of the company.
