BFT stands for Byzantine Fault Tolerance. It’s a consensus mechanism designed to ensure that a network can achieve agreement, even if some participants fail or act maliciously. In a BFT system, a group of nodes must reach a consensus among themselves. A specific number of votes is required for a decision to be valid.

This means that even if some nodes are unreliable or untrustworthy, the system can still function correctly as long as a sufficient majority agrees. BFT is particularly useful in networks where trust is not guaranteed among participants. It prevents issues like double spending and ensures that transactions are valid.

One popular implementation of BFT is the Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), used in various blockchain systems. Overall, BFT mechanisms enhance security and reliability, allowing decentralized networks to operate more effectively amidst potential failures or malicious actions.