Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)
Also known as: BFT, Byzantine Agreement, Fault-Tolerant Consensus
A property of distributed systems that ensures consensus can be reached even if some participants act maliciously or fail.
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) refers to the ability of a distributed system to continue functioning and reach consensus even when some nodes are faulty or malicious. The term originates from the 'Byzantine Generals Problem,' which illustrates the difficulty of achieving reliable coordination in the presence of deceptive actors. In blockchain, BFT mechanisms are used in consensus algorithms like Tendermint, PBFT, and HotStuff. These systems can tolerate up to one-third of nodes being compromised while maintaining security and liveness. BFT is especially critical in Proof of Stake and permissioned networks where safety and fault resilience are essential.