What is a Merkle Tree and how does Kaspa use it?

A Merkle Tree is the data structure Kaspa uses to organize and verify all transactions stored inside a block. It works by taking each transaction, converting it into a short fingerprint called a hash (a leaf node), then pairing those hashes and hashing them again into inner nodes — repeating this process until all the hashes collapse into one single root hash, which is stored in the block header. The practical benefit is that this structure enables efficient verification of transaction integrity and inclusion within the block, meaning you can confirm whether a specific transaction was included in a block without having to check every other transaction one by one.