When you start dabbling in blockchain or cryptocurrency, it seems that you often come across brain-burning terms like PoW and PoS. Today, let's talk about what PoW, PoS, and DPoS are.
PoW, PoS, and DPoS, in one sentence, are the three mainstream consensus mechanisms of blockchain.
Blockchain, in layman's terms, is a decentralized ledger. It's just that this ledger is different from the traditional ledger, not by accountants or a few people, but everyone can participate in bookkeeping.
Moreover, this bookkeeping needs a rule that everyone agrees on, that is, "how to keep an account effective", and this rule that everyone agrees on is the consensus mechanism of blockchain.
For example, if your family plans to travel abroad and chooses Thailand after discussion, then traveling to Thailand is the consensus formed by your family. The way of deliberation is that the minority obeys the majority, and the minority obeys the majority, which is the consensus mechanism for your family to determine the tourist destination.
Similarly, PoW, PoS, and DPoS represent the three main accounting rules of the blockchain network, and they play a very large role and are directly related to the distribution of accounting rights and related income. It is no exaggeration to say that the consensus mechanism is the soul of blockchain.
1. #PoW (Proof-of-Work) proof-of-work mechanism
Proof of Work (PoW) Proof of Work As we can see from the name, what you get is related to what you pay, and the more you give, the more you get. The proof-of-work mechanism is to use the workload results to prove the size of the contribution, and then determine the accounting rights and rewards according to the contribution size.
This proof process relies on computers for mathematical operations. It can be understood that everyone answers the same question, and whoever calculates it first is responsible for bookkeeping and gets the corresponding remuneration, which is the digital currency generated by the network.
For example, in the Bitcoin network system, whoever solves the problem first gets Bitcoin as a reward.
Advantages of POW:: The algorithm is simple and easy to implement. Destroying the system requires huge costs and certain security guarantees.
Disadvantages of POW:: Computing power competition, wasting resources. The transaction confirmation cycle is long, making it difficult to support high-concurrency transactions.
The computer is driven by electricity, and everyone uses the computer to calculate the problem together, which actually consumes a lot of power resources. For example, Bitcoin has been criticized for its PoW consensus mechanism, which consumes billions of dollars worth of electricity every year.
2. #POS (Proof-of-Stake) mechanism
Proof-of-Stake (PoS) is a proof-of-stake mechanism that selects accounting rights based on the number of coins held and the time of day. In other words, the more coins in whoever has in their wallet and the longer they hold them, the greater the probability of who has the right to bookkeep. (The more you hold, the more you get)
Advantages of POS:：
(1) No need to spell out, no waste of electricity.
(2) The cost of doing evil is high, if you want to attack the network, you must have 51% of the coin age, which is very difficult, not only requires a large number of coins, but also needs to be held for a long enough time;
(3) It shortens the block generation time and confirmation time, and improves the system efficiency.
Disadvantages of POS:：
(1) It is the tendency to centralize currency holding, because the more coins held, the longer the time, the greater the income of distribution, and the more coins obtained, making the currency too concentrated;
(2) It is that the liquidity deteriorates, and there is a distribution of income from holding the currency, so there is no motivation to cash out, and the currency will not move, and the lying earning mode will be turned on, resulting in the liquidity of the currency deteriorating.
3. #DPoS Entrusted equity proof mechanism
The delegated proof-of-stake mechanism DPoS is similar to board voting, where holders vote for a certain number of nodes to verify and account on their behalf. If the selected nodes do not perform their duties, that is, when it is their turn, they fail to generate a block, then the network will pick a new block to replace them. In a sense, DPOS can be understood as a polycentric system that is weakly centralized.
Advantages of DPoS:: The number of accounting nodes is small, the collaboration is efficient, and the bookkeeping efficiency is high.
Disadvantages of DPoS:: The degree of decentralization is weakened, accounting is carried out by elected representatives, and there is a certain degree of centralized control.
Conclusion
The above is the interpretation of the three consensus mechanisms of blockchain: POW, POS, and DPOS. At present, the existing mainstream consensus mechanisms on the market have their own advantages and disadvantages, and there is no best or worst distinction. With the continuous development of blockchain technology, the consensus mechanism will also continue to be optimized, and the future is promising.
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Posted on 2025-8-18 09:00:33
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Posted on 2025-8-21 10:30:18
