Execution data and consensus organization have different responsibilities.
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A class agrees which worksheet to accept, while the worksheet contains computations that still must be checked.
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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.
Separate the two layers
The execution layer handles transactions and their state effects. The consensus layer organizes proposals, attestations and agreement under proof-of-stake rules.
Identify the payload role
An execution payload carries execution-related data for processing under the applicable fork. Its content is not automatically valid merely because it was proposed.
Validate the transition
Execution clients check transaction rules and resulting commitments. Consensus and execution clients coordinate rather than replacing each other’s validation work.
Keep fork-specific structure explicit
Payload fields and their relationship to consensus objects can evolve. Read the matching specification rather than treating one historical payload diagram as permanent.
Map the protocol concept
consensus organization → proposed execution data
execution validation → valid transition and commitments
consensus rules → accepted chain context
A conceptual model. Exact fields, limits and processing rules must be checked against the intended network fork.
QUICK CHECK · NO PRESSURE
Does proposing execution data make invalid computation acceptable?