Consensus Sequencing

Consensus Sequencing is the process by which a distributed network of nodes agrees on the order of transactions before they are processed by the matching engine. This is fundamental in decentralized finance (DeFi) to ensure that the matching engine operates on a single, globally accepted order book.

By reaching consensus on the sequence, the network prevents forks and race conditions that could lead to double-spending or unfair execution. This process is often the slowest part of a decentralized exchange, and innovations like layer-two scaling or specialized sequencing nodes are used to improve the speed of consensus without sacrificing the security of the decentralized environment.