A Survey of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Blockchain Designs with Valeria Nikolaenko | a16z crypto research

A broad overview of approaches to proof-of-stake blockchain design with Valeria Nikolaenko (a16z crypto Research Partner). Valeria examines both longest-chain and BFT-style consensus protocols, compares them, and examines the variants used in real-world blockchains. She also examines other PoS designs, such as Algorand, Avalanche, and Solana. Valeria also covers leader-election strategies with the use of VRFs and VDFs, and discusses the space of possible attacks. Finally, she examines the consensus layer design of Ethereum. About the speaker Lera is a Research Partner at a16z crypto. Her research focuses on cryptography and blockchain security. She has also worked on topics such as long-range attacks in PoS consensus protocols, signature schemes, post-quantum security, and multi-party computation. She holds a PhD in Cryptography from Stanford University under advisorship of Professor Dan Boneh, and worked on the Diem blockchain as part of the core research team. More: https://www.valerini.com/ About a16z crypto research a16z crypto research is multidisciplinary lab that works closely with our portfolio companies and others toward solving the important problems in the space, and toward advancing the science and technology of the next generation of the internet. Our researchers are technologists, scientists, cryptographers, and cryptocurrency experts, working to bridge the worlds of academic theory with industry practice, and to help shape crypto and web3 as a formal area of study. More about us: a16z.com/2022/04/21/announcing-a16z-crypto-research More from the a16z crypto team - Subscribe to our 'web3 weekly newsletter': a16zcrypto.substack.com - Listen to our 'web3 with a16z' podcast: a16zcrypto.com/web3-with-a16z-podcast/ - Read more of our work: a16zcrypto.com