What is the difference between routing and route protocols?

Excuse me, could you please clarify the distinction between routing and route protocols in the context of networking and cryptography? I understand that routing refers to the process of selecting the most efficient path for data to travel between two points, but how do route protocols specifically contribute to this process? Are they a set of rules or algorithms that govern how routers communicate and share information about network topology, enabling them to make optimal routing decisions? I'm curious about the intricacies of this topic and how it applies to the secure and efficient transfer of data in cryptocurrency networks.