Proof-of-stake
Proof-of-stake is a blockchain consensus mechanism that selects or weights validators according to cryptocurrency they commit or hold and other protocol rules.
Real-World Cryptography
Proof of stake is a consensus-participant selection mechanism that weights participation according to the amount of currency held or staked.
- How it is used
- Explains how cryptocurrencies dynamically select consensus participants when a fixed participant set does not scale.
- How deep it goes
- Defines stake-weighted participant selection and contrasts it with authority and work, without detailing protocol internals.
- Examples
- Contrasts PoS participant election with PoA’s fixed membership and Bitcoin’s computational proof of work.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate how a cryptocurrency selects consensus participants and distinguish stake-based selection from authority- and work-based approaches.
Investing for Programmers
A proof-of-stake consensus mechanism selects validators according to the cryptocurrency they commit and other protocol rules to confirm transactions and produce blocks.
- How it is used
- Deploys committed cryptocurrency to validate transactions and generate potential passive income.
- How deep it goes
- Explains validator selection, block proposals, delegation, minimum stake, commissions, and token devaluation without detailing consensus internals.
- Examples
- Uses Ethereum’s 32 ETH validator threshold, delegated staking, hardware-ledger software, and comparative cryptocurrency APYs.
- What you can do after
- Operate or configure staking through a validator node, delegation, or hardware-ledger software while assessing costs and risks.
Read how Investing for Programmers explains proof-of-stake →
Related concepts
- stakingused by · Staking is a cryptocurrency participation method in which assets support transaction validation in exchange for rewards.
- consensusconfigures · Consensus is sufficient agreement among participants or processes on a shared decision, value, state, assessment, or outcome.
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