Proof-of-stake

Proof-of-stake was first proposed on an online forum called "BitcoinTalk" on July 11, 2011. It was supposed to be the mechanism to secure Ethereum from the blockchain start, according to the whitepaper, but it was also considered to be impossible. This led to Ethereum launching with a PoW model. The first example of a blockchain utilizing a PoS system was Peercoin, proposed by Sunny King and Scott Nadal in 2012. Other early PoS blockchains include Blackcoin and NXT.

Proof-of-stake has been contrasted to proof of workproof-of-work as virtual mining, simplified with the phrase "One coin, one vote" as compared with proof of workproof-of-work's "one cpu, one vote." Users are required to "stake" their cryptocurrency to become a network validator.