Consensus Mechanism
The rules a decentralized network follows to agree on one valid history without trusting any central party.
A consensus mechanism is the method that lets scattered, sometimes adversarial nodes settle on a single version of the ledger. Without it, two nodes could disagree on who owns what and the system would split.
Proof of work and proof of stake are the best-known designs, but there are many others. Each trades off speed, cost, and how decentralized it stays. The choice shapes a chain's security and its energy footprint.
Related terms
A consensus method where miners burn computing power to earn the right to add blocks and deter cheating.
Proof of Stake (PoS)A consensus method where validators lock up coins as collateral instead of burning electricity to secure the chain.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)A system's ability to keep agreeing on the truth even when some participants fail or actively lie.
DecentralizationSpreading control and data across many independent participants so no single party can dictate or shut things down.