Every blockchain needs a way to define the rules for how transactions are processed and verified on the network and a way to determine how peers on the network must interact with each other. This is what a blockchain consensus is: a set of rules and parameters that tell nodes how to interact with each other and how transactions are processed on the network. In this article, we will take a look at a new protocol that can be used to enable blockchain scalability and increase blockchain throughput and the pros and cons of this new consensus.
What Is Proof of History?
Proof of History is a high-frequency Verifiable Delay Function. This type of function requires a specific number of sequential steps to evaluate but still produces a unique output that is publicly verifiable. Proof of History is a computational sequence that provides a cryptographic way to verify the passage of time between two events on the blockchain. To achieve this, a cryptographically secure function is used whose output cannot be predicted based on input given to it and is a function that must be executed entirely to generate the output. Although not a consensus protocol, it can work alongside a protocol to increase its throughput. Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a throughput of 4 and 15 transactions per second, respectively, Solana, a blockchain that implements Proof of History, achieves a throughput of 50,000 transactions per second. With that being said, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Proof of History.
Proof of History Pros
Faster Throughput
The Proof of History protocol enables quicker throughputs for blockchains. As mentioned earlier, the implementation of Proof of History in the Solana network has achieved a throughput (transactions per second) of 50,000 transactions, with a transaction processing time of around 400ms. Compared with Visa, which performs a transaction processing time of approximately 2.2 seconds, Proof of History shows promise of becoming the backbone of a new mainstream financial system.
Provides the Network With A Decentralized Event-Based Clock
One of the main issues in distributed networks is that there is often a disagreement between nodes regarding when a transaction occurs. This is mainly due to nodes being out of sync and not following the same time. This could be for several reasons. However, if the nodes in a blockchain network could reference one decentralized clock when determining when a transaction took place, it would eradicate these network conflicts and lead to a more efficient and performant blockchain network. The Proof of History protocol enables within a blockchain by providing a decentralized event-based method to verify when a transaction took place on the network all nodes can communicate with.
Can Be Used In Parallel With Any Consensus Protocol
As you may recall, Proof of History is not a consensus protocol but rather a compliment to any blockchain consensus protocol and enables higher throughputs and transaction times within the network no matter what consensus protocol it uses.
Proof of History Cons
Still A New Technology
Proof of History is still a new concept, with many people in the blockchain space arguing that the protocol has yet to prove that it can achieve higher throughputs. Another argument is that Proof of History alone cannot achieve blockchain scalability.
To Recap
Proof of History is a new blockchain protocol that can achieve high network throughputs. This is because the protocol removes any internal network conflict related to the time a transaction occurs. Proof of History provides a decentralized, event-based clock that all nodes in the network can communicate with to verify when a transaction took place in the network. Furthermore, Proof of History is not a consensus protocol. Instead, it works in parallel with a consensus protocol and can be used with any consensus protocol. This makes it possible to scale any blockchain network regardless of its consensus protocol.
CORE MultiChain
CORE MultiChain is a blockchain ecosystem that enables the scalability of both private and public blockchain networks. The ecosystem achieves this by implementing the Proof of History protocol with other protocols and blockchain technologies such as ZK-Snarks, side chains, and their hybrid AI-based consensus protocol. This enables the scalability of any blockchains in the ecosystem to a throughput of at least 50,000 transactions per second.
