Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Glossary

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Off‑Chain Compression

1 min read
Pronunciation
[off-cheyn kom-presh-uhn]
Analogy
Like zipping a large folder before emailing it so the transfer uses less bandwidth.
Definition
Techniques to reduce data size before anchoring or transmitting on‑chain, such as Merkle tree commitments, zk‑SNARK-based aggregation, or binary delta encoding, lowering gas costs and storage requirements.
Key Points Intro
Off‑chain compression optimizes cost and efficiency by minimizing on‑chain payloads.
Key Points

Merkle commitments: Store only root on‑chain, data off‑chain.

zk‑SNARK proofs: Verify large computations with small proofs.

Delta encoding: Record only changes between states.

Batching: Aggregate multiple records into single transaction.

Example
A rollup commits state roots on Ethereum and stores full transaction lists in IPFS, indexed off‑chain for user queries.
Technical Deep Dive
Use Poseidon-based Merkle trees for state; generate zk‑SNARK proof of correct state transition via PLONK. On‑chain contract verifies proof and updates root, while compressed calldata carries minimal calldata.
Security Warning
Off‑chain data availability failures can prevent proof verification; pair with DA layer or fallback on‑chain storage.
Caveat
Compression adds verification complexity and trust assumptions on off‑chain storage.
Related Terms
Merkle Tree
IPFS

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