PoW is the consensus algorithm that works in the Blockchain network. This algorithm is used in the blockchain for transaction confirmation and for production of а new block. Miners are basically are working as in a competition and are trying to complete tasks on the network so they can get a reward from that.
Its main goal is to deter cyber-attacks such as DDoS attacks which are most dangerous and they work by sending tons of fake requests to a computer system. It’s hard to locate whether the PoW concept existed before Bitcoin but we can say for sure that Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency that used this algorithm.
In fact, Proof-of-Work mechanism originates back in 1993 when the term itself first shows up in a document in 1999 by Markus Jakobsson and Ari Juels.
The great thing about PoW is the ability to provide a distributed consensus. This means that if you want to receive or send some money to someone, you will not require a third-party service. With traditional methods of payment, you need to use a bank or a credit card issued by a bank. They all have a private storage and register where they keep all of the transactions history data. With Bitcoin, however, everyone owns a copy of the blockchain and anyone can directly verify the information.
In order for this mechanism to function, you will need an expensive computer that has the ability to mine in order to create trustless transactions, better known as a block. The mining makes possible to verify how legitimate a transaction is and also helps to create new currencies by rewarding the miners for completing the previous task.
The important thing is that PoW is used by the bitcoin blockchain but also by the ethereum one and many other too!
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