Supermajority Fault Tolerance

Definition ∞ Supermajority Fault Tolerance refers to a distributed system’s capacity to continue operating correctly even if a substantial portion, typically more than two-thirds, of its participants act maliciously or experience failure. This property ensures robust consensus and network continuity. It is a measure of system resilience.
Context ∞ Supermajority fault tolerance is a critical security attribute for many blockchain consensus mechanisms, especially in proof-of-stake systems. News often references this concept when discussing the resilience of networks against attacks or node failures. It highlights how protocol designs aim to maintain network integrity even under adverse conditions, ensuring transaction finality and data consistency.