Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

Consensus algorithms

Research in PoS algorithms or alternatives to PoW is also an important area of research. This is especially relevant due to the fact the current Bitcoin network's power consumption is expected to reach almost 125 TWh by the end of 2018. Currently it is almost equivalent to the country of Israel in terms of electricity consumption. It has also been suggested that instead of performing an inefficient or single-purpose type of work as is the case with Bitcoin's PoW, the network power can be used to solve some mathematical or scientific problems. Also, alternatives such as PoS algorithms have already gained much traction and are due to be implemented in major blockchains, for example, Ethereum's Casper. However, so far, PoW ...