GlossaryAdvanced
Light Client
A network participant that verifies transactions without downloading the full blockchain.
A light client verifies specific transactions or account balances without downloading and independently verifying the entire blockchain, generally relying partly on full nodes for certain data.
This makes light clients far less resource-intensive to run, at the cost of some of the independent verification guarantees a full node provides.
Examples
- A mobile wallet often operates as a light client rather than running a full node itself.
- Light clients trade some independent verification strength for significantly lower resource requirements.