Peercoin Is Combining Both PoW And PoS Algorithms

Peercoin is one of the cryptocurrencies that lays low in the altcoin news – and a coin that has also been referred to as the Peer to Peer (PPC) coin. During its launch, this crypto caught the attention of many enthusiasts. Forked from Bitcoin, Peercoin is combining various protocols and is trying not to inherit all of the shortcomings that the dominant coin has which included solely relying on a Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm.

Speaking of which, the PoW algorithm has been seen as a major hindrance to scalability. Additionally, the algorithm requires massive computing powers when confirming transactions on the platform. The developers behind it, Sunny King (which is believed to be a pseudonym) and Scott Nadal introduced a second consensus algorithm, Proof of Stake (PoS) in order  to address the computing power intensity of PoW but also increase the Peercoin efficiency.

So, Peercoin is combining both PoW and PoS in a unique setup which has been described on the official website as:

“Peercoin is the first hybrid blockchain: utilizing proof-of-stake to provide security for the network and proof-of-work for distribution of new coins.”

The blockchain news also show that the Proof of Work (PoW) in Peercoin handles the mining process but as the mining difficulty rises, the platform also accepts the Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm to take over the addition of new blocks in a process that is known as minting. Additionally, the second algorithm is responsible for securing the platform against a 51% attack.

Peercoin is using the same hash function that is used by Bitcoin and has the same PoW algorithm, ensuring that miners get rewards for adding new blocks and this process keeps decreasing over time. The PoS algorithm, on the other hand, rewards those holding 1% of the PoS coin blocks. However, in order to qualify for these rewards, your coins must be held for thirty days. Unlike the PoW algorithm, the PoS one does not rely on the computing power.

And when it comes to buying and selling Peercoin, there aren’t many exchanges listing it. However, major exchanges such as Poloniex, YoBit, Cryptopia, CoinEgg, WEX and HitBTC all support this coin.