# SHA256

There are three primitive elements found in Bitcoin, and therefore the BSV blockchain (BSV): **Hash Functions**, **Merkle Trees**, and **Digital Signatures**. If you take the time to learn these three primitives well, you will likely find the learning curve to understanding these systems significantly reduced. The focus of this course is Hash functions.

**In this course, we examine Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA) and how it relates to the BSV Blockchain.**

### Please note:

There is example code in various parts of the course, and two example hash function implementations (all written using the Go programming language). These examples are simply meant to aid in understanding the course material; knowing how to read and write code is not required to complete this course.&#x20;

***However, although it is not necessary to understand and complete the course, some familiarity with command line or terminal environments and programming is assumed with respect to the example code presented in the course.***


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