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Hexary Patricia Tree

Definition

A Hexary Patricia Tree is a specialized data structure used in Ethereum to efficiently store and retrieve the state of the blockchain, including account balances, contract storage, and transaction receipts. This tree structure, also known as a Merkle Patricia Trie, organizes data using hexadecimal prefixes of cryptographic hashes. It allows for quick verification of data existence and integrity with minimal computational overhead. The structure enables efficient state updates and proofs of inclusion for various network elements.