Liveness Failures

Definition ∞ Liveness Failures are situations where a decentralized network ceases to process new transactions or produce new blocks, effectively halting its operational progress. In such events, the network becomes unresponsive and unable to confirm new activity. This indicates a breakdown in continuous operation.
Context ∞ News reports often cover instances of blockchain network outages or performance degradation, which can be attributed to liveness failures. These events highlight critical vulnerabilities stemming from consensus mechanism issues, network attacks, or significant operational disruptions. Maintaining liveness is paramount for network utility.