Ouroboros: A Provably Secure Proof-of-Stake Blockchain Protocol [pdf] (2019)

Post by wmf » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 1:04 AM UTC

BluSyn wrote: post #28

martindale wrote: post #8

Proof of Stake not only replicates the same dynamics that Bitcoin was designed to eliminate (more wealth -> more power in system) but also can only be made secure against a maximum of ⅓ byzantine actors, compared to Proof of Work's superior ½. As for using it for Layer 1 systems, Andrew Poelstra nailed it in his conclusion [0]: "We showed that by depending only on resources within the system, proof of stake cannot be…

Fundamentally Proof-of-Work relies on the laws of thermodynamics and mathematics to secure the network. Fundamentally Proof-of-Stake relies on a high-level abstract game theory of social interactions between selfish players. One of these is not like the other.

Post by pmohun » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 2:21 AM UTC

sp821543 wrote: post #21

Geee wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a difference. You can't physically centralize energy production. Local energy price will increase when more energy is used. This ensures that no one can get in a position of control. In PoS, it's possible to get > 50% ownership, and it's game over.

Aren't 65% of all bitcoin miners in China? Couldn't the CCP sabotage the network at any time? Say, a month before the launch of their digital currency? https://cbeci.org/mining_map

Post by jki275 » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 2:26 AM UTC

illustriousbear wrote: post #37

While Cardano is interesting, I believe IOTA's implementation of a ledger using a directed acyclic graph is much more interesting/scalable. In addition IOTA's focus on micro-transactions / the machine economy seems like a no brainer and something that cryptocurrencies generally neglect..

Post by ypeterholmes » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 2:45 AM UTC

meowkit wrote: post #42

ypeterholmes wrote: post #22

Important paper here because almost all the next gen blockchains will be using POS. Ethereum is trying to switch mid-flight (yikes) but others like Cardano have incorporated it foundationally. If you're a no-coiner or Bitcoin maximalist, none of this really matters. But if you accept the premise that the future of financial infrastructure is moving towards decentralized, blockchain based systems, then a secure, scala…

> Ethereum is trying to switch mid-flight (yikes) but others like Cardano have incorporated it foundationally. Why yikes? If its a legacy transition, with a flight plan and testing, then it should be fine.

Post by tryptophan » Mon, Feb 01, 2021, 2:53 AM UTC

vbuterin wrote: post #36

martindale wrote: post #8

Proof of Stake not only replicates the same dynamics that Bitcoin was designed to eliminate (more wealth -> more power in system) but also can only be made secure against a maximum of ⅓ byzantine actors, compared to Proof of Work's superior ½. As for using it for Layer 1 systems, Andrew Poelstra nailed it in his conclusion [0]: "We showed that by depending only on resources within the system, proof of stake cannot be…

There's a couple things wrong here: > Proof of Stake not only replicates the same dynamics that Bitcoin was designed to eliminate (more wealth -> more power in system) There is no legitimate sense in which PoS _is_ an instance of "rich have more power and get richer" but PoW is not. In fact, PoW is _worse_ than PoS in this regard, because PoW has economies of scale (if someone with a $100k investment earns $10k/year,…