3 ms·
This 51% number is not really relevant in blockchain consensus. There is Byzantine consensus, which derives from a specific set of assumptions, but those don't
by jl2718 4y ago
This 51% number is not really relevant in blockchain consensus. There is Byzantine consensus, which derives from a specific set of assumptions, but those don't really apply. In reality, consensus is not at all a vote. Coinbase and Circle can accept a chain with only 1% validator support, and that will probably be the canonical chain. Apologies to the many blockchain economists and computer pseudo-scientists that spent the last decade on this, but Consensus is mostly an irrelevant concept. The good news is that new cryptographic primitives are there to fill the same role, and we're just getting started with that.