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Byzantine Rational Adversary

Definition

A Byzantine rational adversary represents a malicious participant within a distributed network who acts strategically to maximize personal benefit. This entity deviates from protocol rules, aiming to disrupt system operations or gain an unfair advantage. Such an adversary employs calculated, self-interested strategies, making their behavior predictable in terms of their goals, unlike purely random Byzantine failures. Understanding their motivations is vital for designing robust, secure blockchain consensus mechanisms.