Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song tweeted saying that proof-of-stake (PoS) does not solve the Byzantine General’s problem (ultimately does not offer decentralized consensus). This drew immediate criticism from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Song is referring to Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), which is derived from the Byzantine Generals’ Problem.
The Byzantine General’s Problem describes the difficulty decentralized parties have in reaching consensus without relying on a trusted central party. It ultimately calls into question whether a distributed network can reach consensus (even if some nodes in the network cannot respond or are compromised).
“If you didn’t understand this tweet, then you are completely unqualified to make any claims about proof-of-stake,” Song stated.
Buterin pointed out in a tweet that any critic who uses terms without arguing what can be explained in “deep arguments” is most likely mistaken.
While Ethereum uses a proof-of-work model, the merger is a highly anticipated upgrade to Ethereum that will shift the major blockchain from a proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-stake.
Also Read: Ethereum Successfully Rolls Out “Gray Glacier” Update
The Crypto Times provides a solid basis for learning more about the major differences between Proof of Work and Proof of Stake.
