Cryptographic primitives are low-level cryptographic algorithms that are used to construct cryptographic protocols used by applications. These are the building blocks of designing a cryptographic system. A designer planning to implement a cryptographic protocol in a system doesn't have to worry about the low-level abstraction of the primitives and can concentrate entirely on building the application:
Figure 2.2 shows a detailed classification of cryptographic primitives. Blockchain technology makes use of most of these cryptographic primitives to achieve basic blockchain functionalities and secure data on the decentralized network: asymmetric cryptography for managing keys; digital signatures for transactions; and, most importantly, hashing, which is the backbone of the blockchain, are some of the...