The protocol, its interfaces and its applications form different layers.
LET’S PICTURE IT
A town has roads, maps, shops and clubs. They work together, but the road department does not run every shop.
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF
Receive, check and share across independent nodesStep 1 / 4
A node receives a proposed transaction or block-related message. Receipt is not the same as accepting its claims.
A node receives a proposed transaction or block-related message. Receipt is not the same as accepting its claims.The node checks the relevant authorization and protocol rules. Popularity does not make an invalid state transition valid.Valid candidate data can propagate to peers. Connections and timing differ, so there is no perfect simultaneous worldwide view.Peers validate under the same protocol rules. This illustration is about verification and propagation, not a complete proof-of-stake consensus algorithm.
Animated local teaching model. No wallet, RPC or live blockchain data. Some labels and hashes are abbreviated for readability.
The protocol and its participants
Nodes verify the chain, validators participate in consensus, and client teams implement protocol software. Researchers and contributors propose improvements. These roles interact, but they are not one central operator.
Interfaces help people use it
Wallets, explorers, websites and developer libraries make data and actions more accessible. An interface can add convenience while also introducing its own availability and trust dependencies.
Applications build on top
Tokens, decentralized exchanges, games and governance systems use contracts with their own rules. Layer 2 networks add scaling designs with additional components. Examine each application’s permissions and assumptions separately.