What is Peercoin?

Peercoin was the first one to implement the PoS (Proof of Stake) protocol in their inner workings. It is not fully PoS, but rather uses a hybrid solution where the PoS mechanism provides the network's security and the PoW regulates the new coin distribution. This combination severely cuts down the costs and energy requirements without compromising the integrity of the network. The users who choose to mint new coins by staking receive a 1% annual reward and they can do so using almost any computer they own. The absence of specialized hardware requirement helps decentralizing the network further (unlike with Bitcoin's mining pools).