Immutability

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.

Byzantine Fault Tolerance

The ability of a distributed system to reach consensus despite some nodes acting maliciously or failing.

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.

A technical specification defining the interface and behaviour of tokens on a blockchain, such as ERC-20 for fungible tokens and ERC-721 for non-fungible tokens.

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

A unique digital asset on a blockchain that represents ownership of a specific item, artwork, or piece of content.

Financial services built on blockchain technology that operate without traditional intermediaries like banks or brokerages.

A collection of funds locked in a smart contract that provides liquidity for decentralised trading and lending.

A node in a proof-of-stake blockchain responsible for verifying transactions and proposing new blocks.

A radical change to a blockchain's protocol that makes previously invalid blocks or transactions valid, requiring all nodes to upgrade.

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