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Unauthenticated Consensus

Definition

Unauthenticated consensus refers to a type of agreement mechanism in distributed systems where participants do not require prior identification or permission to join the consensus process. This approach is typical in public, permissionless blockchains where any node can participate in validating transactions and proposing blocks. While promoting decentralization and censorship resistance, it often necessitates resource-intensive proof-of-work mechanisms to prevent sybil attacks. This design prioritizes openness over controlled participation.