What is PoA consensus?

Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus is an efficient consensus algorithm that was developed by Gavin Wood, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, in 2017. With PoA consensus, all nodes are pre-authenticated, allowing for consensus types that provide high transaction speeds in addition to other benefits.

Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism is a more energy efficient and faster consensus mechanism compared to Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Firstly, in PoA, the responsibility for creating new blocks and validating transactions rests with a select group of pre-approved and trusted nodes - the validators. This is a unique approach that gives PoA an additional level of resilience to attacks compared to PoS. The speciality of these nodes is that PoA provides greater accountability for their actions. In addition, this choice offers the distinct advantage of lower transaction fees since there is no competition for rewards among validators.

Thus, the lack of traditional block mining in PoA ensures that validator nodes do not require huge computational resources, it is a more stable and environmentally friendly system compared to PoW.

In addition, Proof-of-Authority provides the ability to perform transaction validation with exceptional speed. The acceleration in transaction verification allows the blockchain to achieve even more transactions than in PoS or PoW. The estimated block generation time, determined by the number of validators, ensures a regular, fast and efficient process.

Advantages of PoA consensus

Compared to other types of consensus that require proof of computational resources expended (Proof-of-Work) or existing "shares" (Proof-of-Stake), PoA consensus has several notable advantages:

• It does not require high-performance hardware like PoW consensus, which requires nodes to expend computational resources to solve complex mathematical problems;
• The time interval over which new blocks are generated is predictable. For PoW and PoS consensus, this time varies;
• Blocks are generated sequentially at designated intervals by authorised nodes in the network, resulting in higher transaction rates;
• Consensus PoA is resilient to compromised and malicious nodes if 51% of nodes are not compromised.

You can read more about the benefits of the Whitechain network in our White Paper.

PoA consensus in the Whitechain network

When we started building Whitechain, we carefully considered the critical aspects that matter most to our users. Among them, the two most important ones stood out: speed and security. The decision to come to a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus was not based on technical aspects alone. It embodied a commitment to provide the highest level of security for our users. With PoA, we aim to protect their interests and create a strong shield against potential threats and hacker attacks.

The implementation of PoA has unlocked the potential for exceptional transaction fluidity. Our users can enjoy the benefits of low transaction fees and fast transaction speeds that truly stand out in the blockchain world. You can learn more in the White Paper of the Whitechain network.

How does PoA consensus work in a Whitechain network?

To ensure compatibility with existing technologies and to take advantage of the popular community, Whitechain has maintained compatibility with all existing Ethereum smart contracts and the Ethereum toolkit. 

In the Whitechain network, only select nodes known as validators (validating nodes) can generate new blocks. These nodes are responsible for maintaining the blockchain network and the distributed ledger. The blockchain registry maintains a list of validators, and the order of nodes in this list determines the sequence in which nodes generate new blocks.

You can learn more about getting nodes up and running quickly in our GitHub repository.

Also, in the case of Whitechain, the block validators will be authorised nodes from WhiteBIT, which provides overall security and will enable efficient transaction processing and high performance. WhiteBIT plays an important role on the Whitechain platform as a guarantor of performance and security. With its expertise and infrastructure, WhiteBIT ensures smooth and efficient network operation for fast and reliable transaction processing. In addition, WhiteBIT utilises resilient security measures to protect the platform from threats and vulnerabilities. By incorporating WhiteBIT as a trusted framework into the network, users can have confidence in the performance and security of the platform.

Support

In case of any questions related to the functionality of our exchange, you can:

• Leave a request on our website;
• Write to the support email: support@whitebit.com;
• Write to the chat using the button in the lower right corner of the screen (in the WhiteBIT app, go to “Account”—“Support” in the upper left corner).