Trustlessness

A system property allowing transactions to occur without relying on trust in any single party or intermediary.

What is Trustlessness?

Trustlessness refers to the ability of a blockchain or decentralized network, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin, to facilitate secure transactions and interactions without requiring participants to trust a central authority, intermediary, or each other. Instead of relying on human or institutional trustworthiness, trustlessness is achieved through cryptographic protocols, consensus mechanisms, and transparent, immutable code that enforce rules and verify actions. This ensures that transactions are executed as intended, even if parties are anonymous or potentially adversarial.

For example, in a trustless system like Ethereum, smart contracts automatically execute agreements (e.g., transferring digital assets or executing DeFi protocols) based on predefined conditions, without needing a bank or escrow service. The blockchain’s decentralized nodes validate transactions using mechanisms like proof-of-stake, ensuring no single entity can manipulate the outcome. Trustlessness reduces counterparty risk and censorship, but it depends on the network’s security, code integrity, and decentralization to prevent vulnerabilities like 51% attacks or smart contract bugs.