Definition ∞ Communication complexity quantifies the amount of information exchanged between parties to compute a function. This theoretical concept measures the minimum number of bits required for distributed computational tasks, assuming unlimited local computation. In blockchain and distributed systems, it assesses the efficiency of protocols where nodes must coordinate and share data. Lower communication complexity indicates greater scalability and reduced network overhead.
Context ∞ Within blockchain technology, communication complexity is a vital factor in designing scalable and efficient decentralized protocols. Researchers actively seek methods to minimize data exchange between nodes without compromising security or consensus accuracy. This is particularly relevant for layer-2 solutions and sharding architectures aiming to process more transactions. Future advancements in zero-knowledge proofs and other cryptographic techniques hold promise for reducing this computational burden.