Proof of Stake Explained: A Secure and Sustainable Future for Web3 In Brief Discover Proof of Stake, how it differs from Proof of Work and how it powers security and sustainability in Web3. Understanding Proof of Stake: Putting Crypto to Work Proof of Stake functions as a democratic system where the right to vote is proportional to your stake in the community. Here's how Proof of Stake works: Staking: Users lock up a certain amount of their cryptocurrency holdings in a process called staking. This staked crypto acts as collateral, demonstrating their commitment to the network's security. Validators: Not everyone gets to directly validate transactions. The network selects validators based on the amount of crypto they've staked. The more crypto staked, the higher the chance of being chosen. Block validation: Chosen validators propose new blocks containing batches of verified transactions. Other validators then scrutinize these proposed blocks to ensure their accuracy. Rewards and penalties: Validators who propose and validate valid blocks are rewarded with newly minted cryptocurrency. Conversely, those who propose or validate invalid blocks face penalties, including the potential loss of a portion of their stake. Proof of Stake incentivizes honest participation. Validators have a vested interest in maintaining the network's integrity. The more crypto they stake, the more they stand to gain (or lose) depending on their actions.
This section covers the most popular questions about TON Blockchain.
Testnet
TON and L2
Workchains in TON, offer a number of advantages over traditional L1 and L2 layer architecture.
One of the key advantages of a blockchain is the instantaneous processing of transactions. In traditional L2 solutions, there can be delays in moving assets between layers. Workchains eliminate this problem by providing seamless and instantaneous transactions between different parts of the network. This is especially important for applications requiring high speed and low latency.
Workchains support cross-shard activity, which means that users can interact between different shardchains or workchains within the same network. In current L2 solutions, cross-shard operations are often complex and require additional bridges or interoperability solutions. In TON, for example, users can easily exchange tokens or perform other transactions between different shardchains without complex procedures.
Scalability is one of the main challenges for modern blockchain systems. In traditional L2 solutions, scalability is limited by the capacity of the sequencer. If the TPS (transactions per second) on L2 exceeds the sequencer's capacity, it can lead to problems. In workchains in TON, this problem is solved by dividing the shard. When the load on a shard exceeds its capacity, the shard is automatically divided into two or more shards, allowing the system to scale almost without limit.
Is there a need for L2 on the TON?
At any transaction cost, there will always be applications that cannot sustain such a fee but can function at a much lower cost. Similarly, regardless of the latency achieved, there will always be applications that require even lower latency. Therefore, it is conceivable that there might eventually be a need for L2 solutions on the TON platform to cater to these specific requirements.
MEV
In the TON blockchain, deterministic transaction order plays a key role in preventing frontrunning. This means that the order of transactions within a blockchain is predetermined and deterministic. No participant can change this order once transactions have entered the pool. This system eliminates the possibility of manipulating the order of transactions for profit, which differentiates TON from other blockchains such as Ethereum, where validators can change the order of transactions within a block, creating opportunities for MEV (maximum extractable value).
In addition, the current TON architecture lacks a market-based mechanism for determining transaction fees. Commissions are fixed and not subject to change depending on transaction priorities, which makes frontrunning less attractive. Because of the fixed fees and deterministic order of transactions, it is non-trivial to do frontrunning in TON.
Block
Blocks produced by Validators. Existing blocks available via Liteservers. Liteservers accessible via Lite Сlients. On top of Lite Сlient built 3rd-party tools like wallets, explorers, dapps, etc.
To access the Lite Client core check out this section of our GitHub: ton-blockchain/tonlib
Additionally, here are three high-level third-party block explorers:
Compare TON's on-chain metrics, including block time and time-to-finality, to Solana and Ethereum by reading our analysis at ton.org/analysis.