Byzantine Fault Tolerance

Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) refers to a distributed system's ability to function effectively if some of its constituent nodes do not adhere to the system's rules. Byzantine Fault Tolerance is generally considered a core requirement of blockchain networks and is achieved through consensus mechanisms. The term takes its name from the Byzantine Generals' problem in which multiple generals endeavor to reach an agreement via messages, knowing that some generals might be traitorous and send forged messages. Byzantine Failure makes no restrictions or assumptions about the kind of behavior nodes can have, making it especially difficult to deal with - and therefore making the ability to resist such failures a desirable feature for distributed systems.