Beacon Chain
A blockchain or other distributed ledger responsible for coming to consensus about the global [state]/terms_wiki/state_definition) of a network which includes multiple smaller networks. These smaller networks could be implemented in a variety of ways including as side-chains, state channels, relay networks, cryptographic rollups, or a combination.
The beacon chain acts as a hub between auxillary networks and is considered the ultimate authority when it comes to determining the global state of the ledger and its security. As a result, it is critical for the beacon chain to have both byzantine fault tolerance and sybil resistance.
The beacon chain may contain a turing-complete virtual machine that runs dApps internally, or it may be limited to an automata state machine for proving the sequence of state transitions on other ledgers.
To learn more about how the Notoros ledger acts as a beacon chain for Notoros lenses, click here.