Delegated POS

Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is an evolution of Proof of Stake (PoS). DPoS allows faster transaction verifications than PoS, with transactions  being done within seconds. They also offer better energy efficiency, democratic voting systems, etc.

Network users vote and elect delegates to validate blocks. With DPoS, you can vote for delegates by staking your assets and linking them to a particular delegate. You don’t need to send the assets to a particular wallet; instead, there is a service provider that you operate through. There is a certain number of delegates in each new block. These delegates receive a reward from each verified block, which can be distributed to the users. The more assets you add to the staking, the larger the allotment you receive.

The largest DPoS chains include EOS, TRON and Solana.

DPoS Delegates and Witnesses

There are two groups in DPoS: Delegates and Witnesses. We will now explain the role of these groups in DPoS.

Delegates

Delegates are an integral part of any Delegated PoS. They are essentially the users responsible for blockchain governance voted by other network users. Delegates have some special permissions such as suggesting size adjustments of a particular block. In addition, delegates can adjust the reward share paid to witnesses for verifying blocks. The blockchain users vote on proposals submitted by delegates.

Witnesses

Witnesses take responsibility for the security and verification of transactions on the blockchain and for the block creation. Users do not need any cryptocurrency to become witnesses. Successful transactions are recorded in the blockchain.

Voting

In Delegated PoS, a voting mechanism is used to select witnesses for transaction verification. Each DPoS has its own voting system. If a witness does not verify all transactions within the specified time and misses a block, then he or she will not get any reward.

PROs

• DPoS does not have that much hardware power consumption that Proof of Work (PoW) networks require. In PoS networks, significantly less computation is required. In DPoS, you don't need to have expensive hardware; instead, assets locked in a chain are preferred. DPoS is a relatively fast transaction processing mechanism.

CONs

• Partial centralization due to a limited number of delegates. DPoS requires delegates to cooperate in voting to make sure the chain can run. One of the main risks of PoS delegated consensus concerns the formation of “delegate cartels” in which delegates assign verification authority to a limited number of witnesses – ones that they chose and handpicked – enabling them to conspire to falsify records on the chain.

Conclusion

While DPoS has many similarities to PoS, the main difference is that it uses a more democratic voting approach. Users who stake their assets are allowed to vote for delegates. Delegated Proof of Stake includes a voting and delegation mechanism that makes the process more democratic.

PoS algorithms power some of today’s most innovative and popular blockchains, and may become the dominant consensus mechanism in the blockchain progression.

If you are more interested in DPoS, an example you can look at is the TRON blockchain. You can find more about TRON in our PREMIUM section, where we examine this chain in detail.