Scalable Consensus

Definition ∞ Scalable consensus refers to a distributed agreement mechanism that can maintain high performance and throughput as a network grows. This property allows blockchain networks to process a large volume of transactions per second without compromising decentralization or security. It addresses the fundamental challenge of achieving agreement among many nodes efficiently, a common hurdle for public blockchains. Solutions often involve sharding, layer-2 protocols, or novel consensus algorithms to enhance network capacity.
Context ∞ Achieving scalable consensus is a primary objective for many blockchain projects, frequently highlighted in crypto news as a critical factor for mainstream adoption. Innovations in consensus algorithms and network architectures are continuously reported as developers strive to overcome current throughput limitations. The debate often concerns the trade-offs between achieving high transaction speeds and preserving the decentralized nature of the network.