Stateless Clients

Definition ∞ Stateless clients are network participants that do not maintain local state or historical data regarding the network’s operations. Instead, they rely on external sources, such as full nodes or specialized services, to provide the necessary information for transaction validation or interaction. This architectural choice reduces local resource demands.
Context ∞ The concept of stateless clients is pertinent to discussions on blockchain scalability and decentralization, particularly concerning the feasibility of light clients or thin clients interacting with a network. Debates often center on the security implications of offloading state management and the potential for creating new centralization vectors. Future research aims to develop robust stateless verification mechanisms that do not compromise network integrity.