# Chapter 2 — What Is Vaulta? > Meet the blockchain network behind your account, transactions, and blockchain activity. Canonical: https://help.blockzhub.io/articles/chapter-2-what-is-vaulta [Chapter 1](https://help.blockzhub.io/articles/chapter-1-what-is-a-blockchain) introduced the blockchain as a shared record maintained by a network following common rules. Now we will make that model concrete by looking at Vaulta, the blockchain. By the end of this chapter, you should understand what exists on Vaulta, how transactions change it, who produces its blocks, and what the activity you see in [Blocksfinity.com](http://Blocksfinity.com) Blockchain Explorer actually represents. ## From EOS to Vaulta Vaulta is the public blockchain formerly known as EOS. Its 2025 rebrand did not create a separate blockchain or erase the network's history. Existing accounts, smart contracts, and recorded state continued on the same network. The network's native token now uses the symbol $A. Keep three things separate: - Vaulta is the blockchain network. - $A and $EOS are its native tokens, digital assets recorded on that network. - Blocksfinity provides tools for viewing and interacting with the Vaulta network. You may still encounter EOS and $EOS in older records and technical names. That history does not mean your Vaulta account exists on a separate, newly created chain. [1] ## What does "Layer 1" mean? Vaulta is a Layer-1 blockchain: the base network that processes transactions and maintains its own blockchain state. [2] It is the underlying system, not simply a website displaying balances. Its network (node) software checks transactions, executes smart-contract instructions, and follows rules for agreeing on blockchain history. [3] Blocksfinity sits on the interface side of this relationship. It helps you read information and prepare actions, but it is not the authoritative record of your account. [4] Key idea: Your browser shows a view of Vaulta. It does not contain Vaulta. ## What exists on Vaulta? ### Accounts and permissions A Vaulta account is a named record that exists directly on the blockchain. Vaulta uses human-readable account names, making accounts easier to recognize than a long string of unfamiliar characters (public keys). An account can hold tokens and has permissions: rules specifying the authority required to approve actions for that account. Knowing an account's name is not the same as having that authority. [5] Token balances are recorded by the relevant token contracts on-chain. They are not coins stored inside an app. Importing a private key into an Authenticator gives that tool a credential it can use for signing; it does not move the account into the Authenticator/Wallet. Closing the app does not remove the account from Vaulta. We will examine account permissions and signing credentials more closely in later chapters. ### Smart contracts and application data A smart contract is a program deployed to an account on the Vaulta blockchain. It defines actions that can be requested and the rules for processing them. For example, a token contract provides instructions for transferring tokens and maintaining balances. Other contracts can manage different kinds of application data. When a transaction calls a contract action, the network executes the relevant code. A website can help prepare the request, but changing a number on the website is not a substitute for executing the action on-chain. [6] The Vaulta blockchain and the Blocksfinity interface — accounts, permissions, token balances, contracts, and blockchain history belong on the network side; Blocksfinity provides an interface to that information. ## How a transaction changes Vaulta Imagine a simplified example: Alice has 100 $A. Bob has 20 $A. Alice authorizes a normal transfer of 5 $A to Bob. When that transfer successfully executes, the token contract records Alice's balance as 95 $A and Bob's as 25 $A. The transaction records the action that produced the change. This gives us the two views introduced in Chapter 1: History: Alice transferred 5 $A to Bob. Current state: Their balances now reflect that transfer. A transaction can contain one or more actions. The network checks authorization and the applicable execution rules; a signature alone does not guarantee that the transaction will succeed. For example, a correctly signed transfer can still fail because the sender lacks sufficient available tokens. Key idea: Signing authorizes a request. Successful execution changes state. Finality settles its place in blockchain history. ## Who produces the blocks? Vaulta runs through connected computers called nodes, Validators or Block Producers. They can perform different jobs, including validating and relaying blockchain data or answering requests from applications. Block producers are the network participants responsible for validating transactions and producing blocks. Vaulta selects its active producers through a token-holder voting system called delegated proof of stake. You do not need to understand the voting process yet. The important point is that Vaulta has an organized set of network operators and rules for their participation. Decentralization does not mean every user produces blocks or that the network has no governance. [7] Producing a block and finalizing it are related but distinct tasks. Vaulta uses its Savanna consensus system to reach finality. Once a transaction is finalized, its place in the blockchain history is treated as irreversible. [8] ## A new block is not the same as a finalized block A transaction can appear in a recently produced block before that block has been finalized. Finality means the network has reached the agreement required to treat a block as irreversible under its consensus rules. This is stronger than simply seeing the transaction appear in the transaction history. Two terms help you interpret what an Explorer reports: Head block: The latest block reported by the data source. Last irreversible block: The latest block that source reports as finalized; the chain's blocks up to that point are finalized history. Consider an illustrative example, not live network data: Head block:               1005 Last irreversible block:  1003 A successfully executed transaction in block 1002 is within finalized history. A transaction in block 1005 is newer than the reported finality boundary; these numbers alone do not establish that it is finalized. Newest versus finalized — blocks 1001–1003 are finalized, while blocks 1004–1005 are newer than the reported irreversible boundary. Finality is not a judgment that an action was wise, that a recipient is trustworthy, or that a contract is risk-free. A mistaken transfer can still be valid and finalized. Also the Blocksfinity Explorer cannot simply erase it as soon it was sent to the Vaulta blockchain and was included in a block. ## See the network in Blocksfinity Open Blocksfinity. The Blockchain Explorer homepage provides Live transactions and Chain status links. [https://www.blocksfinity.com/livetransactions](https://www.blocksfinity.com/livetransactions) [https://www.blocksfinity.com/chain](https://www.blocksfinity.com/chain) Important: This is an observation exercise only. You do not need to do anything more at this moment. ### Live Transactions: what is happening? Use Live Transactions to observe network activity. The purpose is to connect the concept of a transaction to something visible, not to understand every action name immediately. When inspecting a transaction, try if you can find out: What action was recorded? Which accounts were involved? Which transactionID was assigned and in which block contains it? An action is an individual instruction; a transaction groups actions; a block groups transactions. Those are different levels of the same recorded activity. The Explorer's live-network summary includes Head Block, Irreversible, and Producer. Watch how the reported block numbers and producer information develop over time. ### Chain Status: where has the network reached? Use Chain Status to explore some of the network-level information. Connect those labels to the concepts above: the newest reported block, the finalized boundary, and the producer associated with the reported head block. A frozen page does not by itself prove the blockchain has stopped. Explorer data can be delayed, incomplete, or unavailable. For an important transaction, verify execution and finality using reliable, current blockchain data before deciding to submit another transfer. ## What you should remember - Vaulta is the Layer-1 network formerly known as EOS; A is its native token. - Accounts, permissions, contract code, and balances exist on-chain, not merely inside any interface displaying them. - Transactions request actions; successful execution updates state; blocks record the activity. - The newest reported block and the last irreversible block describe different stages. Seeing activity is not the same as verifying finality. - The Blocksfinity Explorer helps you observe and interact with the Vaulta blockchain. Reading public information does not give you authority to change it. ## Quick Quiz ### 1. What does it mean that Vaulta is a Layer-1 blockchain? - A. It is the first screen shown when opening Blocksfinity. - B. It is the base blockchain network that processes transactions and maintains its own state. - C. It is a token contract whose transactions are recorded on a different blockchain. - D. It is the app that stores an account's signing credentials. ### 2. You close Blocksfinity Explorer and the Blocksfinity Authenticator. What happens to your Vaulta account? - A. It becomes inactive until both applications are reopened. - B. Its balances remain on-chain, but its permissions disappear. - C. Its on-chain record remains; closing those applications does not remove it. - D. It becomes a local backup that must be uploaded again. ### 3. What happens when a normal token transfer successfully executes on Vaulta? - A. The relevant token contract updates the on-chain balances according to its rules. - B. Blocksfinity updates its private database, which becomes the authoritative balance record. - C. The sender's Authenticator stores the recipient's new balance as the official record. - D. The signature alone establishes the final balances, even before the network processes the transaction. ### 4. A reliable, current view reports head block 1005 and last irreversible block 1003. A successful transaction is recorded in block 1002. What can you conclude? - A. It is still waiting to be included in a block. - B. It is not finalized because block 1002 is no longer the head. - C. It needs a new signature before the network can finalize it. - D. It is in the finalized portion of the reported chain. ### 5. Your Explorer stops refreshing just after you submit a signed transfer. What is the best next step? - A. Immediately send the same amount again because the frozen page proves failure. - B. Verify with a blockchain explorer like Blocksfinity.com whether the first transfer executed and finalized before considering another transfer. - C. Assume it finalized because you already signed it. - D. Close the browser to cancel the submitted transaction. Answer footnote: Q1:2; Q2:3; Q3:1; Q4:4; Q5:2. ## Editorial references Primary sources consulted on September 20, 2026. Numbered references in the chapter correspond to this list. - [Vaulta: The Era of A - token swap and network continuity](https://www.vaulta.com/resources/vaulta-token-swap-a-begins-may-14) - [Vaulta: official network overview](https://www.vaulta.com/) - [Vaulta is built on the Antelope blockchain software stack](https://antelope.io/) - [Blocksfinity: Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.blocksfinity.com/faq) - [Vaulta Developer Documentation: Accounts](https://vaulta.gitbook.io/vaulta-guides/accounts/vaulta-native-accounts) - [Vaulta Developer Documentation: Smart Contracts](https://vaulta.gitbook.io/vaulta-guides/accounts/vaulta-native-accounts/smart-contract-account) - [Vaulta Developer Documentation: DPOS Consensus](https://vaulta.gitbook.io/vaulta-guides/node-operators/dpos-consensus) - [Vaulta Developer Documentation: Savanna Consenus](https://vaulta.gitbook.io/vaulta-guides/networks/vaulta-native/savanna-consensus)