Byzantine Fault Tolerance

Blockchain

A distributed, immutable digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers without a central authority.

Distributed Ledger Technology

A digital system for recording, sharing, and synchronising data across multiple sites without a central administrator.

Consensus Mechanism

The method by which a distributed network agrees on the current state of the ledger and validates transactions.

Proof of Work

A consensus mechanism requiring computational effort to validate transactions and create new blocks, used by Bitcoin.

Proof of Stake

A consensus mechanism where validators are selected based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold and stake.

Delegated Proof of Stake

A consensus mechanism where token holders vote for delegates who validate transactions on their behalf.

Merkle Tree

A hash-based data structure that efficiently verifies the integrity and consistency of large sets of data.

Hash Function

A mathematical function that converts input data of any size into a fixed-size output, used extensively in blockchain security.

Cryptographic Hash

A one-way function producing a fixed-length output that is computationally infeasible to reverse or find collisions for.

Public Key Cryptography

An encryption system using mathematically linked key pairs — a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.

Digital Signature

A cryptographic mechanism that verifies the authenticity and integrity of digital messages or documents.

Decentralised Application

An application that runs on a decentralised peer-to-peer network rather than a single centralised server.

The practice of using already-staked cryptocurrency to simultaneously secure additional protocols or services, extending the economic security of one network to others.

The process of using computational power to validate transactions and add new blocks to a proof-of-work blockchain.

A blockchain node that only downloads block headers and relies on full nodes for complete transaction verification.

The economic design and incentive structures governing a cryptocurrency or token ecosystem.

An offline cryptocurrency storage solution disconnected from the internet for maximum security.

A wallet requiring multiple private key signatures to authorise a transaction, enhancing security.

A backward-compatible upgrade to a blockchain protocol where old nodes still recognise new blocks as valid.

A computer connected to a blockchain network that maintains a copy of the ledger and participates in consensus.