Author: Billy Tetrud 2021-06-24 00:14:36
Published on: 2021-06-24T00:14:36+00:00
The argument that Proof of Stake is not permissionless has been debated among members of the bitcoin-dev mailing list. Some argue that the barrier to entry in PoS is being given permission by the previous owner of a token for you to have it via transfer or sale, while others point out that participation in any decentralized system requires the permission of at least one user in that system. The premise put forward is that there is a healthy exchange market for PoS Coin X with tens of thousands of participants bidding to buy and sell the coin for other currencies on the market. It is argued that if this premise is true, then there is no significant permission needed to enter the market for minting blocks for PoS Coin X. However, Keagan McClelland points out that Proof of Stake allows the quorum of coin holders to block the exchange of said coins if they are going to a particular destination. With that in mind, it isn't just that you require the permission of the person who sold you the coins, but you must also require the permission of at least 51% of the coin holders to even receive those coins in the first place. This is not different in proof of work as a colluding coalition of miners with more than 50% of the hashrate can censor transactions by orphaning blocks that contain transactions they want to censor.In conclusion, while there are different opinions on whether Proof of Stake is permissionless or not, both PoW and PoS have their own barriers to entry and vulnerabilities. The difference between them should not be trivialized, as each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T20:50:09.076528+00:00