Cryptocurrencies implement a consensus algorithm, that is a technique of protecting a cryptocurrency’s blockchain and ledger. The hundreds of cryptocurrencies available today employ a broad range of consensus methods, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Solana’s creator, Anatoly Yakovenko, created a one-of-a-kind consensus mechanism called Proof-of-History for the Solana network.
Time agreement is one of the most challenging concerns in distributed systems. Rather than relying on the timestamp, one can demonstrate that the message occurred before and after an event. When you photograph the cover of a newspaper, you are generating proof that your shot was taken after the newspaper was published. You may use Proof of History to construct a historical evidence that demonstrates an event occurred at a given point in time.
The Proof of History is a Verifiable Delay Function that operates at a high frequency. A Verifiable Delay Function needs a certain number of consecutive steps to assess, but it gives a unique result that can be easily and publically validated.
