CBSA Core Blockchain Principles 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Hyperledger Fabric, what component is responsible for ordering transactions and creating blocks?
- Peer nodes
- Chaincode containers
- Ordering service (orderer) (Correct answer)
- Certificate Authority
Correct answer: Ordering service (orderer)
The ordering service collects endorsed transactions, orders them deterministically, and cuts them into blocks distributed to peer nodes.
Question 2: What is a 'smart contract' oracle problem?
- Smart contracts cannot execute faster than 1 transaction per second
- Smart contracts cannot natively access real-world off-chain data without a trusted data feed (Correct answer)
- Oracles prevent smart contracts from being audited
- Smart contracts are incompatible with oracle database systems
Correct answer: Smart contracts cannot natively access real-world off-chain data without a trusted data feed
Blockchains are deterministic closed systems; oracles are third-party services that bridge on-chain contracts with external real-world data.
Question 3: Which cryptographic primitive enables digital signatures used to authenticate blockchain transactions?
- SHA-256 hashing alone
- Asymmetric key cryptography (public-private key pairs) (Correct answer)
- Symmetric AES encryption
- MD5 checksums
Correct answer: Asymmetric key cryptography (public-private key pairs)
Digital signatures use a private key to sign transactions and a corresponding public key to verify authenticity without revealing the private key.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a 'block header' in a blockchain block?
- It stores the full transaction payload
- It contains metadata including the previous block hash, timestamp, Merkle root, and nonce (Correct answer)
- It lists all network node IP addresses
- It holds validator reward information
Correct answer: It contains metadata including the previous block hash, timestamp, Merkle root, and nonce
The block header contains the cryptographic linkage (previous hash) and summary data (Merkle root) that allow lightweight verification without downloading all transactions.
Question 5: What distinguishes a 'consortium blockchain' from both public and fully private blockchains?
- It uses no consensus mechanism
- It is governed and operated by a group of organizations rather than a single entity or the public (Correct answer)
- It stores data off-chain exclusively
- All participants share the same private key
Correct answer: It is governed and operated by a group of organizations rather than a single entity or the public
A consortium blockchain is semi-decentralized, with a pre-selected group of organizations jointly controlling consensus and governance.
Question 6: In blockchain design, what is the CAP theorem's implication for distributed ledger systems?
- A blockchain can simultaneously optimize for cost, accuracy, and performance
- A distributed system can guarantee at most two of: Consistency, Availability, and Partition Tolerance (Correct answer)
- CAP stands for Cryptographic Audit Protocol
- Public blockchains must sacrifice all three properties
Correct answer: A distributed system can guarantee at most two of: Consistency, Availability, and Partition Tolerance
The CAP theorem states that in a distributed network partition scenario, a system must choose between consistency and availability, impacting blockchain design trade-offs.
Question 7: What is 'tokenization' in a blockchain solution architecture context?
- Converting passwords into secure hash tokens
- Representing real-world assets or rights as digital tokens on a blockchain (Correct answer)
- Generating API authentication tokens for node access
- Breaking smart contracts into smaller deployable units
Correct answer: Representing real-world assets or rights as digital tokens on a blockchain
Tokenization encodes ownership or rights to real-world assets (property, securities, art) as blockchain tokens, enabling programmable transfer and fractional ownership.
CBSA Core Blockchain Principles 4
In Hyperledger Fabric, what component is responsible for ordering transactions and creating blocks?