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I want to write a snarky or skeptical comment about how it's probably going to fail, but honestly I kind of love the way Proof of Stake works. Instead of minin

by mabbo 8y ago

I want to write a snarky or skeptical comment about how it's probably going to fail, but honestly I kind of love the way Proof of Stake works. Instead of mining, those who want in put down a stake of ether that they can mine it and get a better chance of winning based on the size of the stake. If they get caught cheating, they lose their stake. There probably going to be some fun when the first serious exploits happen (oh shoot, what happens if someone does [whatever]?) but I think the premise is solid enough that it's worth trying. I do still have serious concerns over things like the DAO hard fork and the expectation that non-expert developers can or should be writing smart contracts, etc. Ethereum isn't perfect. But if they can provide the same service without the need for mining, all the power to them.

Ericson2314 8y ago
All the power not to them, you mean ;)
xorcist 8y ago
> If they get caught cheating, they lose their stake in that chain. In any distributed blockchain there's going to be several chain(tips) at any given time.
- RexetBlell 8y ago
  You are talking about the nothing at stake problem. It's address here: https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQs#what-is-the-nothing-at-stake-problem-and-how-can-it-be-fixed https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQs#wh...
- DennisP 8y ago
  Issuing staking transactions on more than one chain is one of the defined slashing conditions. All the transactions are public so any other staker can see that you've done it, submit the evidence in a transaction of their own, and earn a reward while causing some or all of your stake to be destroyed. ("Some or all" because the devs recognize that you might get hacked, so the penalty depends on how much of the total stake misbehaves at once. If it's only a small portion, it's not damaging and presumed to be accidental.)
  - runeks 8y ago
    What if the misbehaving actor refuses to extend the chain that includes evidence of its own cheating? Ie. the cheater just extends the chain at one block before the block that contains evidence of the cheating. How will clients agree to use the chain that contains the cheating proof, and not the other — just as valid — chain?

by mabbo 8y ago

Ericson2314 8y ago

All the power not to them, you mean ;)

xorcist 8y ago

> If they get caught cheating, they lose their stake in that chain. In any distributed blockchain there's going to be several chain(tips) at any given time.

RexetBlell 8y ago
You are talking about the nothing at stake problem. It's address here: https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQs#what-is-the-nothing-at-stake-problem-and-how-can-it-be-fixed https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQs#wh...
DennisP 8y ago
Issuing staking transactions on more than one chain is one of the defined slashing conditions. All the transactions are public so any other staker can see that you've done it, submit the evidence in a transaction of their own, and earn a reward while causing some or all of your stake to be destroyed. ("Some or all" because the devs recognize that you might get hacked, so the penalty depends on how much of the total stake misbehaves at once. If it's only a small portion, it's not damaging and presumed to be accidental.)
- runeks 8y ago
  What if the misbehaving actor refuses to extend the chain that includes evidence of its own cheating? Ie. the cheater just extends the chain at one block before the block that contains evidence of the cheating. How will clients agree to use the chain that contains the cheating proof, and not the other — just as valid — chain?