Definition ∞ Profit-from-corruption bounds refers to the theoretical or practical limits on the financial gains an attacker can achieve by exploiting vulnerabilities or acting maliciously within a decentralized system. These bounds are determined by the economic incentives and disincentives designed into the protocol, aiming to make corrupt behavior unprofitable. It quantifies the maximum potential benefit from a successful attack, guiding system security design. This concept is central to cryptoeconomic security.
Context ∞ Analyzing profit-from-corruption bounds is a critical aspect of security auditing and economic modeling for new blockchain protocols and decentralized applications. Researchers continually refine these calculations to account for complex attack vectors and market dynamics. The goal is to design systems where the cost of attacking significantly exceeds any potential gain, ensuring network integrity.