Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake: what is it in simple terms?

 Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake: what is it in simple terms? The key feature of this mathematical problem is asymmetry: it should be moderately difficult for the miner, but easy enough for the network as a whole. This is achieved through cryptography. Every miner in the network tries to solve the problem first; at the same time, it can actually be found only by direct enumeration, so many attempts are required for a successful solution. An example, perhaps a little fantastic, but illustrative. Imagine being handed a keyboard with several million numbered keys. You are looking for exactly the key that you need to complete the task correctly, but you do not know its number, so you sort through everything. There is a crowd around you, also looking for the right key. Suddenly you found the right key, tell everyone “guys, I found the key, its number is 22 875”. Everyone around starts checking key number 22875, and oh yes, it is. The one who finds the key first wins a prize. Each is th...

Cryptocurrencies that work on the PoW algorithm

 Cryptocurrencies that work on the PoW algorithm

Proof-of-Work is used in most well-known cryptocurrencies, including:

Bitcoin. This is the very first and most demanded cryptocurrency that uses the PoW algorithm from the very beginning (since 2008).
Litecoin is a well-known fork of Bitcoin, which allows you to double the processing speed of blocks than in the BTC network. Litecoin is the first network to convert cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum is a cryptocurrency that was the first to offer the community smart contracts to automate various processes and create applications. Today, Ethereum uses a hybrid Casper algorithm, and in the future, developers want to completely abandon the PoW algorithm. This is due to the fact that Vitalik Buterin originally intended to use PoS, but the algorithm had problems that forced the developers to turn to more proven mechanisms. Now Buterin hopes that the Casper protocol he created will solve the actual problems of the PoS algorithm and will be able to completely prevent the possibility of forks, which will allow him to get away from Proof-of-Work in the future.
DASH is a promising cryptocurrency that provides completely anonymous payments. Today, the number of DASH transactions exceeds 1% of the total. DASH mining is based on the X11 hashing algorithm. This is an upgraded version of PoW that has resulted in higher system utilization. As a result, the popularity of the network grows, the complexity of mining and the rate of cryptocurrency increase.
Quark is an experimental cryptocurrency that can be mined on CPU processors. Initially, transactions on the network were confirmed every 30 minutes. The uncontrolled release of coins attracted the attention of users, which is why the number of miners increased. Light mining led to the fact that in the first 6 months of the project's existence, users mined almost 200 million coins. The developers had to reduce the issue to 1 million Quark per year.
Monero is an anonymous payment platform. The developers transferred the cryptocurrency to the new PoW CryptoNight consensus algorithm. This happened because 85% of the total network hashrate is generated by FPGA and ASIC devices. The hashrate of one such device is about 128 Kh/s, while the mining farm of 6 video cards barely reaches 6-12 Kh/s. This calls into question the decentralization of the network and contradicts the principles that are at the heart of Monero.