Ontology Open-Sources VBFT Consensus Mechanism and new Version of Underlying Framework
Dear Ontology supporters and technical community members,
Last week we introduced Ontology’s VBFT consensus algorithm. Today we have open-sourced VBFT in the recent Ontology v0.75. We welcome you to visit the Ontology GitHub community for more: https://github.com/ontio/ontology.
At present, most mainstream public chains use the PoW consensus algorithm and BFT consensus algorithms. However, these two consensus algorithms both face scalability problems, and to be effective, PoW uses excessive amounts of electricity. Governance is also crucial for public chains and a hot topic for the community. Ontology adopted the VBFT algorithm precisely to address these concerns with public chain scalability and blockchain network governance.
VBFT is the first milestone in the development of the OCE (Ontology Consensus Engine). VBFT is a new consensus algorithm that combines PoS, VRF (Verifiable Random Function), and BFT. With VBFT, Ontology nodes first apply for participation in network consensus through placing stake. Then, by using a verifiable random number, several nodes are selected from among all the consensus nodes. The selected nodes take the responsibility to propose, verify, and vote for new block(s). In short, VBFT achieves chain scalability by consensus node selection with VRF, anti-attack ability by randomness and PoS, and fast state finality with BFT.
One of the biggest differences between VBFT and other consensus algorithms is that it tightly integrates with Ontology’s governance model; VBFT’s design is based on parameters defined by Ontology while guaranteeing the randomness and fairness of consensus network construction. VBFT helps public chains make great progress on both performance and scalability. Such improved platform will serve dApp developers better with the constant creativity they bring. The blockchain ecosystem relies on them!
VBFT is still under development. Large-scale and long-term practice is also in progress. We hope that all developers in the community will participate in its development.
For more about VBFT, please refer to this article: https://medium.com/ontologynetwork/ontology-launches-vbft-a-next-generation-consensus-mechanism-becoming-one-of-the-first-vrf-based-91f782308db4.
Thank you for your continued support,
The Ontology Team
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