Delayed Proof-of-Work (dPoW) allows one blockchain to leverage the security of another blockchain, making security the primary reason to use a dPoW consensus mechanism. This is made possible by the primary blockchain taking advantage of the hashing power of a secondary blockchain. The primary blockchain relaying on dPoW can be using a Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. The secondary blockchain needs to be running on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. The first cryptocurrency to use a delayed Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism was Komodo, which is attached to the Bitcoin blockchain.
The purpose of using a dPoW consensus mechanism is to take advantage of security features of one blockchain and the hashing power of a second blockchain to provide more secure and faster blockchain consensus compared to using a single blockchain. Blockchains using dPoW have enhanced security because for them to become compromised their needs to be a coordinated effort, or simultaneous, corruption of two blockchains in use by the dPow consensus mechanism.
