Clear DefinitionsProof-of-Authority
1 min read
Pronunciation
[proof uhv uh-thawr-i-tee]
Analogy
Imagine a private club where only a select group of well-known, vetted members (authorities) are allowed to approve new members or changes to club rules. Their identity and reputation within the community are what give them this power, not computational work or staked money. If they act improperly, their reputation is damaged, and they can be removed.
Definition
A consensus mechanism used in permissioned blockchains where transaction validation and block creation are performed by a limited set of pre-approved nodes (authorities or validators) whose identities are known and reputable. Reputation is the primary stake.
Key Points Intro
Key Points
Validators are chosen based on their identity and reputation, rather than computational power or staked assets.
Requires participants to have a known and verifiable identity.
Offers high transaction throughput and efficiency due to the limited number of trusted validators.
Suitable for private or consortium blockchains where trust is placed in the known identities of the validators.
Example
VeChain (for its mainnet validators) and some Ethereum testnets (like Goerli historically) have used Proof-of-Authority. It's also common in enterprise blockchain solutions built on platforms like Hyperledger Besu or Parity Ethereum for private networks.
Technical Deep Dive
In PoA, each validator typically has a unique identity linked to their node. The right to produce blocks is often granted in rounds or according to a schedule among the authorized validators. Since validators are known, any malicious behavior can be traced back to the responsible entity, leading to reputational damage or removal from the validator set by the governing body of the permissioned network. This model is less about cryptoeconomic incentives and more about trust in the identities and continued good behavior of the authorities.
Security Warning
PoA is inherently more centralized than PoW or PoS because it relies on a small, fixed set of authorities. The security depends on the trustworthiness and operational security of these authorities. If a significant number of authorities collude or are compromised, the network can be controlled or censored.
Proof-of-Authority - Related Articles
No related articles for this term.