{"id":"padding-leaves-use-empty-hash","text":"Non-power-of-2 leaf counts are padded with `EMPTY_HASH` (SHA-256 of empty bytes) to form a complete binary tree; these padding nodes appear in proof paths but do not represent real data.","truth_value":"IN","source":"entries/2026/05/29/topic-merkle-proof-security-model.md","source_url":"","source_hash":"","justifications":[],"dependents":[],"metadata":{},"explanation":{"steps":[{"node":"padding-leaves-use-empty-hash","truth_value":"IN","reason":"premise"}]}}