State Growth

Definition ∞ State growth in a blockchain context refers to the expansion in the total amount of data stored on the network, representing the cumulative record of all transactions and smart contract executions. This includes account balances, contract code, and other persistent information that defines the current condition of the ledger. Managing this growth is critical for network health.
Context ∞ The issue of state growth is a significant technical challenge for many blockchain networks, impacting storage requirements for full nodes and synchronization times. News often covers protocol upgrades or layer-2 solutions designed to mitigate this expansion while maintaining data accessibility and integrity. Efficient state management is crucial for long-term scalability and decentralization.