Abstract
Blockchain technology started as the backbone for cryptocurriencies and it has emerged as one of the most interesting technologies of the last decade. It is a new paradigm able to modify the way how industries transact. Today, the industries’ concern is about their ability to handle a high volume of data transactions per second while preserving both decentralization and security. Both decentralization and security are guaranteed by the mathematical strength of cryptographic primitives. There are two main approaches to achieve consensus: the Proof-of-Work based blockchains—PoW—and the Proof-of-Stake—PoS. Both of them come with some pros and drawbacks, but both rely on cryptography. In this survey, we present a review of the main consensus procedures, including the new consensus proposed by Algorand: Pure Proof-of-Stake—Pure PoS. In this article, we provide a framework to compare the performances of PoW, PoS and the Pure PoS, based on throughput and scalability.
Highlights
Blockchain was developed in 2009 by grouping, all at once, some well-known technologies
Our goal is not to provide a detailed overview of every blockchain on the market, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, but we would rather focus on the consensus mechanism because, in our humble opinion, this is worthy to create a critical thinking of the blockchain technology
We focused on Proof-of-Work because it was the first idea of consensus in the blockchain framework and it is still widely adopted; the Proof-of-Stake that was the first to implement a selection of participants based on their stakes; and the Pure Proof-of-Stake that claims to solve the Trilemma
Summary
Blockchain was developed in 2009 by grouping, all at once, some well-known technologies. People may study the blockchain for two aims: for cryptocurrencies applications or as a technology able to integrate web-based applications adding decentralization as a feature already implemented by blockchains—for example, applications to support the rental market. In both cases, the blockchains have to perform well, reaching a high throughput and scaling to hundreds of thousands of users. This survey has been written with the aim to provide a framework to compare three of the most interesting public consensus procedures: the Proof-of-Work, the Proof-of-Stake, and the Pure.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
