Consensus

Botanix Consensus

For the current consensus implementation, visit Consensus - CometBFT.

Consensus mechanisms

Blockchain consensus refers to the mechanism used by participants in a blockchain network to agree on the validity and order of transactions. Since blockchains are decentralized and do not rely on a central authority, consensus protocols ensure that all nodes in the network share the same data and prevent fraudulent activities like double spending.

There are several types of consensus mechanisms used in blockchain, with the most common being:

1. Proof of Work (PoW):

   • Used by Bitcoin and originally Ethereum.

   • In PoW, miners compete to solve complex cryptographic puzzles. The first to solve it gets the right to add a new block to the blockchain and receives a reward. This requires substantial computational power and energy.

2. Proof of Stake (PoS):

   • Used by Ethereum 2.0, Cardano, and others.

   • In PoS, validators are chosen to propose blocks based on the number of coins they hold and are willing to "stake" as collateral. This mechanism is more energy-efficient than PoW.

3. Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS):

   • Used by EOS, TRON, and Steem.

   • Token holders vote for a small number of delegates to validate transactions and secure the network. It's faster than PoW and PoS but can be more centralized.

4. Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT):

   • Used by Hyperledger and other private/permissioned blockchains.

   • PBFT focuses on achieving consensus in the presence of Byzantine faults (i.e., malicious actors). It’s highly efficient for permissioned networks but less scalable for larger public blockchains.

   • CometBFT (formerly known as Tendermint) is an example of a Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT)-based consensus algorithm. It implements a modified version of PBFT tailored for blockchain networks, known as Tendermint BFT.

5. Proof of Authority (PoA):

   • Often used in private or consortium blockchains.

   • In PoA, a set of validators, chosen based on their reputation, are given the authority to validate transactions. It’s efficient but requires trust in the validators.

6. Proof of Space (PoSpace) / Proof of Capacity:

   • Used by networks like Chia.

   • In this mechanism, miners allocate disk space to secure the network instead of computational power or coins.

Each consensus mechanism has trade-offs in terms of security, scalability, and decentralization. The choice of consensus protocol depends on the goals and design of the blockchain system.

Botanix Consensus

Botanix Labs has opted for a Proof of Stake consensus model. Since the Botanix EVM will be 1-1 pegged, the centralization trend for the participants seen in PoS will be counterbalanced by Bitcoin’s PoW and Botanix can benefit from Bitcoin’s initial fair distribution. However, this also means there will be no base fee reward for the stakers and the fees gathered by the staking participants stand against the opportunity cost of locking their stake. Proof of Work makes a lot of sense for the base reserve currency due to its decentralization trend and fair distribution, while the performance and speed benefits of Proof of Stake make more sense for a pegged second layer.