Trustless

A trustless system is one where participants do not need to place their trust in a third party. Instead, a trustless system uses a mechanism that allows all parties to reach consensus without a central authority and without needing to trust each other directly.

For example, Bitcoin was created as a system where anyone with a computer and an internet connection can participate in validating transactions. Since all transactions are stored on a public ledger, anyone can view their full history. In Bitcoin, trust is placed into the code and the economic incentives rather than a central authority. The Bitcoin blockchain does require trust, however, this trust is distributed across the network, minimizing but not eliminating the need for it entirely.