How Does the Consensus Mechanism of a Blockchain Support Smart Contract Trustlessness?
The consensus mechanism (e.g. Proof-of-Stake) ensures that all nodes agree on the correct order of transactions and the final state of the smart contract.
This distributed agreement makes it virtually impossible for a single malicious actor to unilaterally alter the contract's execution or history, thereby enforcing the trustless environment.
Glossar
Blockchain Support
Ledger ⎊ The foundational element of blockchain support within cryptocurrency, options, and derivatives contexts is the distributed, immutable ledger.
Distributed Agreement
Consensus ⎊ Distributed Agreement, often termed consensus, is the algorithmic process by which all independent nodes in a decentralized network collectively validate and agree upon the chronological order and content of new transaction blocks.
Smart Contract
Code ⎊ The contract is fundamentally self-executing code deployed on a distributed ledger, embodying the terms of the agreement in an immutable format.
Trustlessness
Principle ⎊ Trustlessness is a foundational principle of decentralized finance, describing a system where participants can interact and transact without the need for a trusted third-party intermediary, such as a bank or a centralized exchange.
Consensus Mechanism
Efficacy ⎊ : The mechanism's efficacy is measured by its ability to achieve agreement on transaction ordering and state transition while maintaining a high degree of decentralization and finality.