Proof of History

Every blockchain needs a way to define rules for how transactions are processed and verified on the network and how peers on the web should interact with each other. This is the blockchain consensus: 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 examine a new protocol and the pros and cons of this new consensus that can be used to enable blockchain scalability and increase blockchain throughput.

What is the Proof of History?

Proof of History is a high-frequency Verifiable Delay Function. This type of function requires a certain number of consecutive steps to evaluate but still produces a uniquely verifiable output that is generally 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, a process whose output cannot be predicted based on its input and must be fully executed to generate the output. While not a consensus protocol, it can work with a protocol to increase its throughput. Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana, a blockchain implementing Proof of History, achieves a throughput of 50,000 transactions per second, with a throughput of 4 and 15 transactions per second, respectively. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Proof of History.

Proof of History Pros

Faster Yield

The Proof of History protocol provides faster throughput for blockchains. As mentioned earlier, the Proof of History implementation on the Solana network achieved a throughput of 50,000 transactions (transactions per second) with a processing time of approximately 400 ms. Compared to Visa, which earned a transaction processing time of roughly 2.2 seconds, Proof of History shows the promise of being the backbone of a new mainstream financial system.

Provides a Decentralized Event-Based Clock to the Network

One of the main problems in distributed networks is that there is often a disagreement between nodes about when a transaction occurs. This is mainly due to the nodes not being synchronized and not keeping track simultaneously. This could be for several reasons. However, if nodes in a blockchain network could resort to a decentralized clock when determining when a transaction occurred, this would eliminate network conflicts and lead to a more efficient blockchain network. The Proof of History protocol provides within a blockchain by providing a decentralized event-based method for verifying when a transaction occurred on the web that 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 a compliment to any blockchain consensus protocol. It provides higher throughput and transaction times within the network no matter which consensus protocol it uses.

Proof of History Cons

Still a New Technology

Proof of History is still a new concept, and many in the blockchain space argue that the protocol has yet to prove that it can achieve higher throughput. Another argument is that Proof of History alone cannot provide blockchain scalability.

To summarize

Proof of History is a new blockchain protocol that can achieve high network throughput. This is because the protocol eliminates any internal network conflicts related to when a transaction occurs. Proof of History provides a decentralized, event-based clock that all nodes in the network can communicate with to verify that a transaction has appeared on the web. Also, Proof of History is not a consensus protocol. Instead, it runs in parallel with a consensus protocol and can be used with any. This makes it possible to scale any blockchain network regardless of the consensus protocol.

Posschain

Posschain 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, sidechains, and their hybrid AI-based consensus protocol. This ensures the scalability of any blockchain in the ecosystem to at least 50,000 transactions per second.