Immutability
Quick Answer
Immutability is the blockchain property preventing recorded data from being altered after confirmation, providing merchants with unalterable receipts of every payment.
Full Definition
Immutability is the property of a blockchain that prevents recorded data from being altered or deleted after it has been confirmed. Once a transaction is included in a block and subsequent blocks are built on top of it, modifying that transaction would require re-computing every subsequent block — which is computationally infeasible on secure networks. Immutability provides merchants with an unalterable receipt of every payment, eliminating disputes about whether a transaction occurred.
Related Terms
Idempotency
Idempotency in payment APIs means making the same request multiple times produces the same result, preventing duplicate charges from network retries or timeouts.
Interoperability
Interoperability is the ability of different blockchains to communicate and transfer assets between each other, enabling customers to pay from any chain with transparent cross-chain routing.