The Future of Consensus Lies in the Underlying Protocol

Not many believed that Blockchain will stick this long, let alone its ‘fastest growing technology’ tag. What Blockchain has achieved in just 10 years and the amount of attention it is receiving from all walks of life is stunning. Its sheer ability to integrate across verticals and technologies like AI is working in its favor and pooling in a swarm of investments from multiple sectors, each trying to fit Blockchain in accordance with their needs. Blockchain promises to deliver decentralized, transparent and secure platforms and also refurbish the existing ones willing to adapt to the innovation.

Bitcoin no longer needs an introduction with how it has moved the world into an economic revolution. While the journey of Bitcoin is full of highs and lows, this revolutionizing cryptocurrency has spread its roots deeper with every turmoil. Bitcoin not only made its own way through the rough patches but also inspired several other innovations giving Blockchain its much deserved space across industries. The emerging Blockchain platforms have not only carried forward the decentralized bid but have also pooled in innovation and expanded its presence. The consensus algorithms too have evolved in their propositions and play a prominent role and cater to specific objectives.

Bitcoin for instance is based on the proof-of-work (POW) algorithm and allows users to conduct non-reversible transactions without prying intermediaries. Each node is independent, offering decentralization to the network. To process transactions on the Bitcoin network, the initiator must have a powerful setup of special software, hardware and users to use them. Miners get paid for the activities and in return add transactions in subsequent blocks. Once the block is processed the transactions involved get recorded on the blockchain. The catch however is when the new blocks get generated/added to the chain. Every new block on the chain needs not only the current transaction data but also requires a reference to the previous block. This task is not as easy as it sounds though. To be able to find the previous block miners need to solve complex cryptographic puzzles often done at a high-speed and requiring strong computational power.

The power of Bitcoin thus comes from the amount of power an attacker would require to compromise its security. However, POW needs high amounts of energy and has scalability issues (since every node loads entire information on the chain and participates in the validation process) and is often not considered apt for smaller networks (since the power is derived from the network’s strength).

While POW offers a strong counter to threats and potential risks, the power it needs to operate often becomes a bottleneck. However, there are various other protocols that are not only feasible to implement but also offer uniqueness in terms of features they offer to the networks.

The Hybrid Parity Protocol and Proof of Transfer are just two of the emerging consensus protocols that take Blockchain’s bid for the future to a new high.

Blockchain platforms don’t cease to amaze, isn’t it?

There are some other types of consensus protocols like dPoS, PBFT etc. each with their own unique features and benefits for the overall progress and strength of the blockchain networks. These protocols guarantee the stability of underlying blockchain systems and have their own unique strengths, weaknesses and use cases. Thus, there is a need to ascertain not only the strengths they provide to the network but also whether applying a particular protocol makes the best fit in said scenarios. It is only through insight that blockchain platforms can benefit maximum from the consensus protocols and establish themselves in the future.

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