Off-chain
blockchain
Activity that occurs outside the base blockchain, often for speed, privacy, or cost efficiency.
- Also known as
- offchain
Off-chain refers to interactions that do not immediately settle on the base chain. They can later be anchored on-chain or netted into fewer transactions.
Benefits include lower fees, faster confirmations, and improved privacy at the cost of additional complexity and trust assumptions.
Related terms
On-Chain
→Recorded or executed directly in transactions governed by a blockchain's base-layer rules.
blockchain · transaction
Layer-2
→A protocol built around a Layer-1 to move activity off the base chain while relying on it for settlement or security.
scaling · architecture
Lightning Network
→A Bitcoin payment-channel network that routes off-chain balance updates and settles channel state on-chain.
bitcoin · layer-2 · payments