SHA 256 - Secure Hash Algorithm 256

Created by Ethos Support, Modified on Wed, 8 Feb, 2023 at 7:05 PM by Ethos Support

Originally designed by the US Government’s National Security Agency in 2001, and released under a royalty-free licence, SHA is considered one of the most digitally secure ways to encrypt and protect information. 


It is used by Bitcoin as the basis of its Proof of Work algorithm, a variation of the Hashcash function invented by British cryptographer Adam Back in 1997. It’s also used in creating Bitcoin addresses, thereby improving security and privacy. 


It is estimated there are as many solutions to SHA 256 as there are grains of sand on earth, making the economics of trying to crack it using brute force techniques unviable. See the section on ‘Proof of Work’ to learn more about the fundamentals of its application to blockchain technology.

Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select at least one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article