Proof of Stake (PoS)
A family of consensus mechanisms in which validators commit stake to propose, attest to, and finalize blocks.
- Acronym
- PoS
- Also known as
- PoS
Proof of Stake (PoS) selects or weights validators using cryptocurrency committed under protocol rules. Validators propose blocks, attest to chain state, or participate in finality according to the specific design.
Honest participation can earn protocol rewards. Downtime, conflicting votes, or other defined behavior may lose rewards or trigger slashing. Not every PoS system has the same slashing conditions, minimum stake, lockup, or delegation model.
PoS security depends on stake distribution, validator-client diversity, network synchrony, fork-choice and finality rules, and credible penalties. Long-range history and new-node bootstrapping can require a recent trusted checkpoint, a property often called weak subjectivity.
PoS avoids continuous proof-of-work mining and can reduce direct energy use. It can also concentrate influence through wealth, custodians, liquid-staking providers, governance, or infrastructure. Throughput and block time are separate protocol choices, not automatic consequences of stake.
Related terms
Explore connected entries beyond the alphabetical index.
Proof of Work (PoW)
→A consensus mechanism that makes block production require verifiable computational work.
Staking
→Locking or delegating tokens to support a proof-of-stake network or protocol in exchange for potential rewards.
Validator
→A consensus participant that proposes, verifies, or attests to blocks, often after bonding stake in a proof-of-stake network.
Weak Subjectivity
→A proof-of-stake property where new or long-offline nodes need a recent trusted checkpoint to sync safely.