Protocol
The rulebook software follows so that computers on a network can talk to each other and agree.
In plain English
The rulebook software follows so that computers on a network can talk to each other and agree.
A protocol is a set of shared rules. The internet runs on protocols that define how data travels. In crypto, a blockchain's protocol defines how transactions are formatted, how blocks are made, and how nodes agree on the truth.
The word also gets used for whole projects built on top of blockchains, especially in DeFi: a lending protocol, an exchange protocol. Changing a protocol's rules may require an upgrade or a fork.
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