# Transaction Lifecycle Transactions are at the heart of the blockchain network. Every transaction that happens on the network modifies the state of the blockchain. The purpose of the bitcoin protocol was to redefine the methods and ways our lives use the internet by adding the missing link of secure, small, casual, payment infrastructure to it. It additionally provides a system of recording data using a native commodity token system. This base system can become a central global public timestamping system for all information and data transmission. A transaction can encapsulate all types of interactions. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://hub.bsvblockchain.org/bsv-skills-center/~/changes/149/protocol/transaction-lifecycle.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.