The blockchain technology era is up and running, as many companies including small, medium, and larger corporations are striving to acquaint themselves with the requisite knowledge of blockchain technology and how it works.
What are the critical features of blockchain?
Every data generated can be uploaded and stored on the blockchain as a result of its decentralized nature. Nodes can be created from virtually any part of the world to help ensure that this data does not lack its integrity and remains transparent in every way possible.
However, the following are the key features of every blockchain, this includes but is not limited to:
- Tamperproof: In order to remove any issue of fraud and multiple data representations, the transactions are confirmed on the blockchain to validate the authenticity of data as they are on an open ledger system for the sake of transparency.
This would deter criminals who would want to tamper with data in the system, especially when they claim they have made payments without a block hash confirmation on the blockchain.
- Network: The system operates on a node synchronization, where the node always considers that the longest chain within the system should be the correct one and will keep working on extending it. This is done by adding more chains to increase the validity of the block.
- Timestamp: Every data entered into the blockchain has a timestamp on it to help keep the records intact. Such that no matter how many times a transaction is made there is a time record for the transactions, thereby keeping track of the system in a secure way.
How does blockchain work?
There is indeed a need for a basic understanding of how blockchain works. This is to put even the least literate user of blockchain technology into perspective.
Therefore, the first thing a user or a node will have to do is to initiate a transaction by signing it with its private key. Basically, the private key will generate a unique digital signature or access to the blockchain and make sure that no one can alter it.
While in reality, if anyone endeavors to modify the transaction information within the block, the digital signature will change drastically, and no one will be able to verify it. This eventually nullifies the said transaction and it will be dismissed or disregarded.
After the transaction has been initiated, that transaction will be broadcasted to other verifying nodes. In simple terms, this is where the blockchain platform can use different methods to verify whether the transaction is valid or not.
The two most popular methods or algorithms used are either proof of work or proof of stake. With either of the consensus algorithms, once the nodes verify that the transaction is valid, it will be placed in the digital ledger which will contain a timestamp and a unique ID to ensure security from any form of alteration.
Does consensus help the system to agree?
The consensus principle helps to control the way the blockchain arrives at an agreement, it’s a form of how individual nodes on the network can reach a resolution even though minorities may not like it. This is one of the fundamentals for blockchain validation as nodes come to an agreement.
What is proof of work?
Proof of Work (POW) uses a competitive validation method to confirm transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. Proof of Work involves bundling a group of transactions in a mempool, and miners have to verify the validity of transactions by solving a cryptographic puzzle.
One of the critical factors associated with PoW consensus algorithms is energy efficiency. Proof of Work consensus algorithms focuses on identifying the user who could modify the ledger by leveraging a competitive race.
However, such participants in the race or miners have to use computational energy for proposing valid blocks that follow the network rules.
The miners have the flexibility for using any type of energy sources, such as wind, hydropower, and other sustainable energy sources for the process of achieving computational power.
What is proof of stake?
The proof of stake algorithm does not depend on computers competing with each other for generating a suitable hash. On the contrary, the PoS protocol focuses on determining participation according to ownership of the coin supply by users (sometimes referred to as validators).
Basically, the proof of stake consensus replaces computational power with currency power. Therefore, the ability for validating transactions depends on the ‘stake’ of the users in the network.
Proof-of-stake changes the way blocks are verified using the machines of coin owners. The owners offer their coins as collateral for the chance to validate blocks. Coin owners with staked coins become the key validators for the consensus mechanism.
What is the Klever validators program?
The ongoing Klever validators program has been designed to build a robust network of node validators for the Klever Blockchain.
These sets of nodes are spread all over the world as the validators perform the proof of stake by holding a certain amount of KLV in order to earn their rewards as blocks are formed in the network.
This consensus mechanism created by the Klever team of developers has consequently built a formidable product that would ensure the stability of the mainnet release of the Klever blockchain (KleverChain).
In conclusion, KleverChain and its validators would ensure that transactions are validated efficiently and transparently based on the mathematical logic deployed for the security and quality of the network in a Klever way.
