Proof-of-Work (PoW)

The proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism is a decentralized consensus mechanism used by blockchain networks to validate transactions. It indicates the efforts of the miners to solve a mathematical puzzle necessary to add new blocks to the blockchain network. PoW removes intermediaries and enables secure peer-to-peer transactions.

The PoW consensus mechanism also ensures that data hasn’t been altered and that the miners have executed the mining transparently. After mining, each miner broadcasts to the network that a new block has been added to the network and validated by the PoW mechanism.

The biggest drawback of the PoW mechanism is high electricity consumption. Bitcoin and the initial version of Ethereum employed the PoW consensus mechanism, which resulted in higher electricity consumption and very high CO2 emissions.