Witness
In SegWit, the witness holds signatures and related data outside the traditional transaction structure.
The witness is a segregated section carrying the unlocking data (e.g., signatures, public keys). It reduces malleability and changes how transaction weight is calculated.
"A P2WPKH input's witness stack contains the ECDSA signature and the public key, separate from the legacy scriptSig."
Related Terms
SegWit
→A protocol upgrade that separates transaction data into two segments, mitigating transaction malleability and increasing block capacity.
Signature
→A cryptographic proof that a message was authorized by the holder of a private key.
Transaction
→The fundamental unit of data exchange on a blockchain, representing transfers of cryptocurrency or executions of smart contracts.
All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.
