Читать книгу Cryptocurrency All-in-One For Dummies онлайн

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Most blockchains operate under the premise that they will be attacked by outside forces or by users of the system. The expected threat and the degree of trust that the network has in the nodes that operate the blockchain will determine the type of consensus algorithm that they use to settle their ledger. For example, Bitcoin and Ethereum expect a very high degree of threat and use a strong consensus algorithm called proof of work. There is no trust in the network.

On the other end of the spectrum, blockchains that are used to record financial transactions between known parties can use a lighter and faster consensus. Their need for high-speed transactions is more important. Proof of work is too slow and costly for them to operate because of the comparatively few participants within the network and the immediate finality needed for each transaction. They also do not need a token or cryptocurrency to incentivize transaction processing. So, they eliminate these components from their system, which enables them to run faster and cheaper than PoW systems. You can learn more about PoW and PoS algorithms in Book 6, ssss1.