Merkle trees are a fundamental data structure used in blockchain technology for efficiently verifying data integrity. Leaves at the bottom hold data chunks, and parent nodes store the hash of their combined child node hashes.
This continues upwards, culminating in a single root hash. To prove a piece of data is part of the tree, only a small “Merkle proof” containing hashes along a single branch is needed, reducing verification costs substantially. Merkle trees ensure tamper-resistance and streamline data verification in blockchains.