Voting, Witnesses & Block Validators

Voting

In Consensus PoS, users can directly vote or give their voting rights to another entity to vote on their behalf. The selected witness is responsible for creating blocks by verifying transactions. If they verify and sign all transactions in a block, they receive a reward, usually shared among those who voted for the witness. If a witness fails to verify all transactions within the given time, the block is missed, all transactions remain unverified, and no reward is distributed to that witness. The reward is added to the reward of the next witness that verifies that block. The next witness collects such transactions, and such a block is called stolen.

The number of votes is proportional to the share size of each voter. Users do not need to have a large amount of money to participate in the top witness group. Votes from users with large stakes may instead result in users with relatively small stakes being elevated to the top tier of witnesses.

N block producers are elected from the pool of witness candidates. The k(th) block producer signs the k(th) block until k = N. A block is complete when it is voted on by (2/3 + 1) block producers. In the case of two strings, the longest chain rule is followed. Added block cannot be reversed.

A round in the PoS blockchain with N producers/witnesses in the loop order is as follows:

A witness is controlled by the threat of loss of income, stake lock, and reputation score. Witnesses must lock a specific portion of their shares from being seized if they act maliciously or attempt to attack the blockchain.

Witness

The number of witnesses at the top level is limited to a certain number, usually between 21-101. These witnesses are responsible for validating transactions and creating blocks and, in return, are rewarded with associated fees. Witnesses can prevent specific transactions from being included in the block. Still, they cannot change the information of any transactions, making them similar to miners in Proof Of Work blockchains. Voting is an ongoing process, and each top-level witness is always at risk of being replaced by a user who receives more votes and is therefore considered more trustworthy. As the number of people applying to be a witness increases, competition increases, and reputation becomes important for each witness to stay competitive.

A witness is controlled by the threat of loss of income, stake lock, and reputation score. Witnesses must lock a specific portion of their shares from being seized if they act maliciously or attempt to attack the blockchain.

A round in the PoS blockchain with N producers/witnesses in the loop order is as follows:

N block producers are elected from the pool of witness candidates. The k(th) block producer signs the kth block until k = N. A block is complete when it is voted on by (2/3 + 1) block producers. In the case of two strings, the longest chain rule is followed. Added block cannot be reversed.

Delegates

Users in PoS systems also vote on a group of delegates that oversee blockchain governance. They do not play any role in controlling the transaction. Delegates can propose to change the size of a block or how much a witness should pay to validate the block.

After delegates propose such changes, blockchain users can vote on whether to adopt them.

Block validators

Block validators in PoS refer to full nodes that verify that the blocks generated by the witness follow the consensus rules. Any user can run the block validator and verify the network. There is no incentive to be a block validator.