Off-Chain
a.k.a. Offchain
Activity that happens outside a blockchain and isn't recorded on it directly.
In plain English
Activity that happens outside a blockchain and isn't recorded on it directly.
Off-chain means away from the blockchain. When you trade bitcoin on an exchange, the exchange usually just updates numbers in its own database; nothing hits the chain until someone withdraws. Payment channels on the Lightning Network also work off-chain until they settle.
Off-chain is faster and cheaper, which is the point. The trade-off is trust: you're relying on whoever keeps those records, instead of the public chain. Compare on-chain.
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