We’re reading the latest edition of Cardano for the Masses and want to encourage community participation by doing a read-along. We invite you to pick up the book, come along, leave a comment, and participate in the related every epoch giveaway when they come up!
Every blockchain has something called a “consensus protocol.” This phrase is handy for making peoples’ eyes glaze over in casual conversation! However, the concept is really important.
We are all accustomed to the workings of centralized institutions - like banks, universities, or Twitter - where these authorities determine what is true and what happens next. How much money is in your account? What credits do you need to earn your degree? Whose tweets will appear in your feed? In each case, there is a set of “if-then” type business logic that governs the flow of money, academic achievement, and viral tweets. The rules might be spelled out in a banking user agreement, or buried in a proprietary Twitter algorithm. Either way, these rules govern our interactions with these entities.
Different blockchain’s have different consensus protocols. Broadly, they tend to be one of two main types: Proof-of-Work(POW) or Proof-of-Stake(POS). Cardano is in the Proof-of-Stake camp, and the name of its particular POS protocol is “Ouroboros.” This chapter of the book is all about Ouroboros and all the pieces that comprise it.
Read the full article at Lido Nation!