Definition ∞ Network integrity risk refers to the potential for a blockchain network’s data or operational processes to be compromised or corrupted. This risk includes threats like 51% attacks, sybil attacks, data manipulation, or denial-of-service attacks that could lead to invalid transactions, altered history, or network unavailability. Maintaining network integrity is crucial for the trust and reliability of a decentralized ledger. Any compromise undermines the fundamental guarantees of immutability and security.
Context ∞ Ensuring network integrity is a constant challenge and a primary focus for blockchain protocol developers and security researchers. Ongoing debates concern the long-term sustainability of proof-of-work security and the centralization concerns within proof-of-stake models. Future research explores novel cryptographic primitives and distributed consensus mechanisms to bolster resilience against advanced attacks. News frequently reports on efforts to strengthen network integrity, as it is foundational to the value proposition of digital assets.
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