  Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain, have gained significant
popularity in recent years. Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin to enable a
secure, distributed platform without the need for central authorities, and
blockchain has been hailed as a paradigm that will be as impactful as Big Data,
Cloud Computing, and Machine Learning.
  Blockchain incorporates innovative ideas from various fields, such as
public-key encryption and distributed systems. As a result, readers often
encounter resources that explain Blockchain technology from a single
perspective, leaving them with more questions than answers.
  In this primer, we aim to provide a comprehensive view of blockchain. We will
begin with a brief history and introduce the building blocks of the blockchain.
As graph mining is a major area of blockchain analysis, we will delve into the
graph-theoretical aspects of Blockchain technology. We will also discuss the
future of blockchain and explain how extensions such as smart contracts and
decentralized autonomous organizations will function.
  Our goal is to provide a concise but complete description of blockchain
technology that is accessible to readers with no prior expertise in the field.
