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Blockchain Course

Consensus Mechanism | Metal University

Written by Emaad

On December 3, 2019

What is a consensus mechanism?

What is a consensus mechanism?

Consensus refers to the act of coming to an agreement among individuals or groups. A consensus mechanism is the method by which decentralized networks agree on which transactions are valid before being confirmed as legitimate across the network.

A good consensus mechanism allows for decentralization, immutability, permissionless participation and trustlessness. Typical consensus mechanisms found in blockchains are Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Stake (PoS), or delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS). There are novel, hybrid approaches combining PoW with PoS, in addition to lesser known ones such as Proof-of-Space-and-Time (PoST) or Proof-of-Capacity (PoC).

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What is Proof of Work (PoW)?

What is Proof of Work (PoW)?

Proof-of-Work is the original consensus mechanism that is utilized by the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin’s decentralization refers to the global network of nodes and miners that is responsible for broadcasting and confirming valid transactions; they are not controlled by...

What is Proof of Stake (PoS)?

What is Proof of Stake (PoS)?

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) was developed as an alternative consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Work. Proponents of PoS typically say that PoW is too energy and resource intensive. As a response, they developed Proof-of-Stake which aims to solve these issues inherent to PoW. In...

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