Both proof-of-work and proof-of-stake are what are called “consensus mechanisms,” the method by which a blockchain maintains its integrity.
Before we go into the comparative analysis of Proof of Work[PoW] and Proof of Stake[PoS]lets first of give a brief breakdown one the terms [PoW] and [PoS].
PROOF OF WORK [PoW]
Proof of work is a decentralised consensus mechanism in which a one party (the prover),proves to the others(the verifiers)that a certain amount of a specific computational effort has been expended.Proof of work at scale requires huge amount of energy,which only increases as more miners join the network.
The concept was invented by Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor in 1993 as a way to deter denial-of-service attacks and other service abuses such as spam on a network by requiring some work from a service requester, usually meaning processing time by a computer.
HOW DOES THE PoW ALGORITHM WORK?
The Proof of Work consensus algorithm involves solving a computational challenging puzzle in order to create new blocks in the Bitcoin blockchain. ... The energy consuming part is solving the 'hard mathematical problem' to link the new block to the last block in the valid blockchain.The purpose of proof-of-work algorithms are not proving that certain work was carried out or that a computational puzzle was "solved", but deterring manipulation of data via the specific solution of establishing large energy and hardware-control requirements for the ability to do so.
IMPORTANCE-It is necessary for security which prevents fraud, enable trusts this security ensures that independent data processors (miners) cannot lie about transactions.
DISADVANTAGES-There are two primary disadvantages to Proof of Work systems. The first is that they waste energy, which is bad for the environment. As computers perform extra computational work, additional electricity is used. This can add up to an extremely large amount of excess electricity consumption.
The second major drawback to Proof of Work blockchains is about security. Proof of Work blockchains provide adequate security only if there is a large network of miners competing for block rewards. If the network is small, the possibility remains that a hacker could gain a simple majority of the network’s computational power and stage what is known as a 51% attack.
PROOF OF STAKE [PoS]
Proof of stake protocols are a class of consensus mechanisms for blockchains that work by selecting validators in proportion to their quantity of holdings in the associated cryptocurrency. Unlike a proof of work protocol, PoS systems do not incentivize extreme amounts of energy consumption. Proof of Stake was first created in 2012 by two developers called Scott Nadal and Sunny King. At the time of its launch, the founders argued that Bitcoin and its Proof of Work model required the equivalent of $150,000 in daily electricity costs.
The Proof of Stake (PoS) concept states that a person can mine or validate block transactions according to how many coins they hold. This means that the more coins owned by a miner, the more mining power they have.
HOW DOES THE PoS ALGORITHM WORK?
the Proof of stake algorithm decides on who validates the next block, according to how many coins you hold, instead of miners cracking cryptographic puzzles using computing power to verify transactions like they do with traditional Proof-of-Work.
IMPORTANCE-For crypto investors and speculators Proof of Stake holds value because of it’s perceived impact on price. .. Proof of stake provides a way for token holders to make use of their tokens and earn some income.
DISADVANTAGES-Its disadvantage lies in the fact that a lot of costly equipment is needed for mining and finding the right solution. Vanilla proof-of-stake doesn’t achieve consensus, unfortunately. People staking their coin can vote for both forks of the blockchain, and can even mine effortlessly in secret.
now that this has been established we can now proceed to the comparative analysis as stated earlier which is “PROOF OF WORK VS PROOF OF STAKE"
Some argue proof-of-work has problems. As bitcoin mining has become concentrated, some groups have become more powerful than Bitcoin’s creator intended. And Bitcoin currently uses at least as much energy as all of Switzerland. (Others argue it’s not that bad because the current financial system also uses plenty of energy.)
In a nutshell, these proof-of-X schemes help to verify what transactions are added to the blockchain by way of blocks, which are filled with the latest transactions. The winner gets a reward.
Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake each pick a “winner” – the entity that will create the next block – in a different way.
With proof-of-work, miners are the participants. They are more likely to add additional blocks to the blockchain if they have more computational power, which is fueled by electricity.
In proof-of-stake, miners are more likely to win additional blocks if they have more money – ether, in the case of Ethereum. In other words, proof-of-stake relies on “proof” of how much “stake” users have.
Critics argue it hasn’t yet been proven that proof-of-stake can eradicate these problems. But advocates think it could be the way forward.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PoW AND PoS
•In “PoW" mining capacity depends on computational power whereas in “PoS" validating capacity depends on the stake in the network.
•in proof of work,miners receive block rewards to solve a cryptographic puzzle while in proof of stake validators do not receive block rewards instead they collect transaction fees as rewards.
•miners group in mining pools for increased mining efficiency whereas PoS systems. are more decentralised and significantly more cost effective.
a common question im frequently asked is
IS PROOF OF STAKE BETTER THAN PROOF OF STAKE?
Not necessarily. This question is still up for debate.
Proof-of-stake has drawn more than a few critics. One reason is that Ethereum developers have been quick to tout the advantages of proof-of-stake, but it has not yet been proven to work because it doesn’t exist yet. Blockstream Director of Research Andrew Poelstra wrote a mathematical paper back in 2015 saying proof-of-stake is “fundamentally unable to produce a distributed consensus within Bitcoin’s trust model.”
But if proof-of-stake does turn out to work, either without or with minimal complications, then it could be a greener alternative that can accomplish the same goals as proof-of-work, but more efficiently.
i personally think that PoS (proof of stake) system is a more advantageous protocol to be adopted because of the fact that its advantages outweigh its disadvantages and the advantages of PoW(proof of work) system.
i also personally think that PoS system is the future
why ?you might ask
this is because While concerns still exist about the practicality of proof-of-stake, Ethereum’s planned shift has pushed it to the top of the crypto headlines in recent months.
There’s no denying that Proof of Stake making the creation of 64 shard chains that will exponentially increase the capacity and transaction speed of the Ethereum network is a big deal.
Likewise, solving the problem of PoW’s not-so-environmentally-friendly mining process has profound implications on the environmental cost of achieving consensus.
if you have any other questions regarding the topic please contact me on;
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