Glossary / Security & encryption

Hashing (cryptographic hash)

A cryptographic hash is a fixed-length fingerprint computed from data: the same input always produces the same hash, and changing a single character produces a completely different one. Unlike encryption, hashing is one-way — you can verify data matches a hash, but you cannot reverse it. That's what makes hashes ideal for storing passwords and for sealing documents so tampering is provable, which is exactly how our contract platform seals executed agreements.