What is SHA-256?

SHA-256 is a member of the SHA-2 family of cryptographic hash functions. It produces a 256-bit (32-byte) hash value, shown as 64 hexadecimal characters. SHA-256 is widely used for digital signatures, blockchain (including Bitcoin), password hashing (when combined with proper techniques), and certificate verification. It is considered secure against known attacks and is the current standard for many security applications. SHA-256 is part of the same design family as SHA-512 but with a shorter output.