GUID / UUID v7 is a timestamp-prefixed identifier that combines a Unix Epoch timestamp in milliseconds with random bits to create globally unique identifiers that are roughly sortable by creation time. It is designed for modern distributed systems and databases where time-ordered keys improve performance and reduce index fragmentation. For practical purposes, the 48-bit timestamp provides over 8,900 years of usable range, making timestamp overflow a non-issue for any real-world application.