Today in Ludos 101, we’re going to take a look at the consensus mechanism of the Ludos Protocol main chain.

The Ludos main chain uses a hybrid consensus mechanism of PoW (Proof of Work) + PoS (Proof of Stake). Proof-of-Work, or PoW, is the original consensus algorithm in a Blockchainnetwork. In Blockchain, this algorithm is used to confirm transactions and produce new blocks to the chain. With PoW, miners compete against each other to complete transactions on the network and get rewarded. Proof of stake (PoS) is a type of algorithm by which a cryptocurrency blockchain network aims to achieve distributed consensus. In PoS-based cryptocurrencies the creator of the next block is chosen via various combinations of random selection and wealth or age (i.e., the stake). PoW+PoS is a hybrid consensus algorithm that balances the roles of miners and users.

The advantages of mixed consensus:

PoS, PoW, and DPoS are always debated. They each have their own shortcomings: PoW wastes resources, PoS is prone to the ‘Matthew Effect’, and DPoS is highly centralized. Ludos believes in the future of PoS, and will eventually turn to pure PoS as a consensus mechanism. However, the current pure PoS mechanism faces problems such as nothing at stake attack and potential centralization. Currently, very few successful blockchains rely on traditional PoS as a consensus algorithm.

Ludos chose to use PoW+PoS as a consensus mechanism during the transition period: Currently, every 50 PoW blocks will have a PoS verification correspondingly, which can maximize the mutual participation of miners and ordinary users, so that both parties can benefit. In addition, the PoS mechanism will encourage holders of LUD coins to keep their coins in the wallet instead of going to the exchange. This will help users focus on the technology and ecology of Ludos rather than the short-term benefits of market volatility.

Ludos will give Ludos Plasma an implementation of the Plasma layered sidechain protocol. The goal is to transfer a large number of smart contract calculations for a feature or game to a side chain instead of executing it on the Ludos main chain. The side chain can start with a network architecture with relatively few nodes weakly centralized, and adopt PoA or DPoS as the consensus algorithm (the side chain issuer can select the consensus algorithm that best meets the requirements according to the actual situation), and the number of transactions per second can reach the thousands. This expansion plan is a technology of chain trading, relying on the underlying layer of Ludos to achieve its security. It allows the creation of sidechains attached to the Ludos main chain. These side chains, in turn, can produce their own side chains and so on. As a result, we can perform many complex operations at the sidechain level, run games with thousands of users, and only need to interact as little as possible with the Ludos backbone. These sidechains operate faster and have lower transaction costs because their operation does not require a copy of the entire Ludos blockchain.