Evolution of PoS: From Peercoin and Nxt to Ethereum

The concept of using Proof of Stake (PoS) instead of Proof of Work (PoW) to secure cryptocurrency networks has been around for a long time.First proposed by Sunny King and Scott Nadal in 2012, PoS is a more energy-efficient solution than using mining, which is traditionally used to secure blockchain networks such as Bitcoin.

In the years since,Proof-of-stake has gone from being a fringe technology to being the default mechanism favored by new cryptocurrency networks.secondary title

The original Peercoin

In 2011, Sunny King and Scott Nadal began to reflect on what came to be known as proof-of-stake, fleshing out their concept in the Peercoin white paper the following year. As they explain, "Proof of Stake is based on the age of tokens and is generated by each node through a hash algorithm, which is similar to Bitcoin but with a limited search space.The centrally broadcast checkpoint mechanism further protects the blockchain history and transaction settlement. "

There are two main goals driving the creation of PoS. first aboutenergy efficiency, if new blockchains continue to emerge, there will not be enough computing power to secure them. Chains with low hash power are vulnerable to 51% attacks, and Bitcoin's growing energy consumption has begun to draw the ire of environmentalists.

A second consideration that leads to Proof-of-Stake is the desireImprove the security of the chainsecondary title

Development of Nxt Proof of Stake

As clever as King and Nadal's idea is, it's only partially implemented in Peercoin, which still relies on proof-of-work and PoS. PoS was not fully tested in practice until the launch of Nxt in 2013.

Nxt was developed by the software company Jelurida and isThe first pure proof-of-stake blockchain, which is also the template to be copied by the subsequent PoS network.Nxt is an open-source blockchain written in Java that is today a payment network and DApp launch hub, complete with a private chain for commercial applications.

Many crypto projects then started experimenting with PoS, tweaking the consensus algorithm to fit the characteristics of their network. The biggest manifestation of this is EOS, developed by Steemit founder Dan Larimer after a year-long $4 billion ICO.

EOS uses Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS), whereby token holders can delegate the responsibility of validating transactions to block producers. Although the perception of DPos has attracted some criticism, because DPos has collusion within the network.secondary title

Respect the pioneers

For most of its history,Proof of stake is characterized by blockchain projects collaborating with each other and iterating on other people's ideas. After all, better consensus algorithms lead to better outcomes for all cryptocurrency users. But it was not all smooth sailing, and without mutual support, the developers stumbled along the way, and some latecomers got into trouble.

Algorand in particular has recently attracted the ire of Nxt and has taken the blame for its claim to have created the world's first pure proof-of-stake blockchain. Nxt has the white paper and seven-year history to prove it, and Jelurida developer Lior Yaffe is not afraid to bring Algorand's false claims to public discussion.

The debate spilled over to cryptocurrency social media, and in the end the judges scored for Nxt.Proof of Stake may be open to use by any blockchain,secondary title

The future of PoS

In just eight years,Proof of Stake has gone from a niche idea to the industry's most popular consensus mechanism,This mechanism is responsible for securing billions of dollars in crypto assets.

Networks such as Tezos and the forthcoming ETH2.0 are benefiting a new audience of token holders who can play their part in securing a cryptonetwork for which they have a vested interest and are rewarded for their efforts return.

While Proof of Work (POW) will remain the most popular consensus algorithm for Bitcoin and its ilk, every major new blockchain today is PoS.The original text comes from bitcoinist, compiled by the Bluemountain Labs team, the English copyright belongs to the original author, please contact the compiler for Chinese reprint.

The original text comes from bitcoinist, compiled by the Bluemountain Labs team, the English copyright belongs to the original author, please contact the compiler for Chinese reprint.