A probabilistic consensus mechanism using proof-of-work where the longest valid chain is considered authoritative.
Nakamoto Consensus is the mechanism introduced by Bitcoin where nodes consider the chain with the most cumulative proof-of-work to be the valid one. Miners bundle transactions into blocks and compete via proof-of-work; the chain that grows the fastest (by accumulated work) becomes the network’s authoritative history.
"If two blocks are found at the same height, nodes follow the branch that later accrues more work, eventually converging on a single longest valid chain."
Finality is probabilistic—each additional confirmation exponentially reduces the chance of a reorg replacing a transaction. High-value transfers often wait for more confirmations as a risk mitigation.
"Merchants may accept 0–1 confirmations for small BCH payments but require more for higher-value transactions to reduce reorg risk."
Security assumes no attacker controls a majority of hash rate. Difficulty adjustment keeps average block time stable even as hash power fluctuates, maintaining predictable confirmation cadence.
"If hash rate spikes or drops, the Difficulty Adjustment Algorithm retargets difficulty to keep blocks around 10 minutes on average."
All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.