Consensus Resilience

Definition ∞ Consensus resilience is the capacity of a distributed ledger system to maintain agreement among its participants despite various disruptions or malicious activities. This property ensures the network continues to operate correctly and securely even when some nodes fail or act dishonestly. It reflects the robustness of the underlying consensus mechanism against attacks or operational errors. Strong consensus resilience is essential for the reliability and trustworthiness of any blockchain.
Context ∞ Consensus resilience is a primary concern for the security and stability of blockchain networks, particularly proof-of-work and proof-of-stake systems. Ongoing research explores new consensus algorithms designed to improve this characteristic, often balancing it with scalability and decentralization. News frequently reports on network attacks or vulnerabilities that test the resilience of various protocols, highlighting its critical importance.