Ethereum

You all know what cryptocurrencies are. The most famous is certainly Bitcoin. There is another very famous one called Ethereum. The latter cryptocurrency has been at the center of an important change in recent days, the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. But let's start from the beginning : Cryptocurrencies are based on a data structure called blockchain which is shared among all users. All currency transactions are encoded within the blockchain and are linked and validated through very secure algorithms which, however, are very heavy in execution and involve an enormous expenditure of energy. The execution of these algorithms is called mining (undermining), in fact whoever does this computational work receives a reward in currency. This type of validation is called proof-of-work and is the basis of all current virtual currencies. Only after a “trial of work” do you earn currency. The step that Ethereum made eliminates this computational effort by introducing the stake. But I'll tell you about the stake next time…

Stefano Ravizza
NP November 2022