<p>Yes. The only things you need to create a block are:</p>

<ol>
<li>Hash of topmost block</li>
<li>It's height</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-31T12:31:07.693Z
2017-12-31T12:31:07.693Z
amaclin
<p>As far as I can understand, whole blockchain is required for verifying and discarding double-spend transactions. Also, mining empty block is accepted by bitcoin's blockchain protocol.</p>

<p>When we want to mine empty block, we don't need to validate transactions, because there are no transactions (except block reward) in our empty block. Is it mean, we don't need to download entire blockchain for mining empty block?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-31T12:19:07.527Z
I'm not 100% sure but I think, you are right. The only element you need from the blockchain in this case is the hash of the previous block.
hardfork
<mining-theory><empty-blocks>
Is it possible to mine empty block without downloading entire blockchain?
thisiselgun
# Is it possible to mine empty block without downloading entire blockchain?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-31)

As far as I can understand, whole blockchain is required for verifying and discarding double-spend transactions. Also, mining empty block is accepted by bitcoin's blockchain protocol.

When we want to mine empty block, we don't need to validate transactions, because there are no transactions (except block reward) in our empty block. Is it mean, we don't need to download entire blockchain for mining empty block?

**Tags:** mining-theory, empty-blocks

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not 100% sure but I think, you are right. The only element you need from the blockchain in this case is the hash of the previous block.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-31. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Yes. The only things you need to create a block are:

1. Hash of topmost block
2. It's height


---

