Reckless – Chapter 18: Proof Of Stake

However, at the start, Ethereum was to use Proof of Work, until researchers could work out how to build a strong enough Proof of Stake system. Proof of Stake, on the other hand, is when nodes choose the blockchain with the most accumulated stake backing it. There were several major technical flaws in Proof of Stake systems, the most significant of them being something called the “Nothing at stake” problem. One of the key reasons for switching to Proof of Stake is avoiding the environmental externality from Proof of Work. Comparing the level of efficiency between Proof of Work systems and Proof of Stake systems may therefore be extremely difficult.