🧊BLAKE

NEW

A cryptographic hash function family and SHA-3 finalist that inspired the modern BLAKE2 and BLAKE3 algorithms.

DESCRIPTION

BLAKE is a family of hash functions submitted to the NIST SHA-3 competition, using a design based on the ChaCha/Salsa20 permutation. It became a finalist and influenced successors BLAKE2 and BLAKE3, which improved speed and features like parallelism and simpler parameterization. While BLAKE itself is less used today, BLAKE2 and BLAKE3 are widely adopted for performance-critical applications. For standards-bound contexts, SHA-2/SHA-3 remain common choices.

ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS

Jean-Philippe Aumasson

BLAKE is a cryptographic hash function, a finalist of the NIST SHA-3 competition, based on the ChaCha/Salsa20 family’s core.

Designer’s description; paraphrased due to offline generation.

Source

NIST

BLAKE was among the candidates evaluated during the SHA-3 competition for selection of a new hash standard.

Emphasizes competition context; paraphrased due to offline generation.

Source

RELATED TERMS

BLAKE2 Hash Function BLAKE3 Salsa20 ChaCha SHA-3 Skein Whirlpool Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 Cryptographic Hash Function

COMPETING TERMS

Keccak

RELATIONS

• Broader: BLAKE Hash Function Cryptographic Hash Function
• Narrower: BLAKE3

KNOWLEDGE AREAS

Data Security Software Engineering

TARGET AUDIENCE

Security Architect Cybersecurity Engineer Software Developer DevOps Engineer IT Auditor

EXTERNAL SOURCES

• Wikipedia - BLAKE (hash function)
• J.-P. Aumasson - Author’s BLAKE resources.
• BLAKE2 Team - Details on BLAKE2 successor.
• NIST - SHA-3 candidate listing.

TOP QUESTIONS

Is BLAKE still used directly in production?

BLAKE influenced successors; BLAKE2 and BLAKE3 are preferred for performance and simplicity. Standards-focused deployments often use SHA-2/3.

Category: Relevancy

How does BLAKE differ from SHA-3 (Keccak)?

BLAKE uses a ChaCha/Salsa-inspired permutation and Merkle–Damgård-like mode; Keccak uses a sponge construction with a permutation-based state.

Category: Distinction

What are the main benefits of BLAKE2/BLAKE3 over BLAKE?

They improve speed, offer parallelism (tree hashing), and streamline parameters, making them easier to deploy.

Category: Evolution

Is BLAKE standardized?

BLAKE itself is not a NIST standard; BLAKE2 has RFCs and widespread library support, while SHA-3 is standardized by NIST.

Category: Standards

When should I pick BLAKE-derived functions?

Choose BLAKE2/BLAKE3 for high performance hashing where standards compliance isn’t mandatory.

Category: Recommendation

Is BLAKE suitable for password hashing?

No. Use memory-hard schemes like Argon2 or scrypt; raw fast hashes are inappropriate for passwords.

Category: Mistakes

What is a common misunderstanding about BLAKE?

That being a SHA-3 finalist implies standardization. It influenced later designs but SHA-3 standardized Keccak.

Category: Misunderstanding

Who designed BLAKE?

Jean-Philippe Aumasson and collaborators authored BLAKE for the SHA-3 competition.

Category: People

What hot topic relates to BLAKE today?

Use of BLAKE3 for parallel, high-throughput hashing in modern storage and content-addressed systems.

Category: Topic