Charles Hoskinson Joins Buterin In Expressing Displeasure Over Jimmy Song PoS Criticism

Co-founder of the Cardano blockchain, Charles Hoskinson, joined Vitalik Buterin in expressing his displeasure over the recent criticism of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The reaction was in response to Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song’s stinging criticism of the consensus mechanism. 

Jimmy Song’s Proof-of-Stake Criticism 

Proof-of-Stake had recently come under some criticism, primarily from Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song, who stated that the consensus protocol does not give a definitive solution for the Byzantine Generals Problem. Song’s argument found support in Emin Gun Sirer, founder of Ava Labs, who stated, 

“Proof of Stake isn’t a consensus algorithm. I think I was the first person to publicly point this out years ago. Anyone who doesn’t understand this should, in Jimmy’s words, stay out of the discussion.”

Hoskinson Calls Claims Stupid 

Charles Hoskinson also waded into the conversation, quoting Jimmy Song’s tweet and stating that the “level of stupid here is beyond explanation.” In an attempt to further buttress his argument, Song stated that with the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, it is impossible to ascertain the canonicity of a blockchain without having to refer to a central authority, thus defeating the entire purpose of decentralization. 

Hoskinson, when asked about his thoughts regarding Song’s claim, simply referred to the paper on the Proof-of-Stake blockchain “Ouroboros Genesis: Composable Proof-of-Stake Blockchains with Dynamic Availability,” stating that all of Song’s claims and doubts are addressed in it. Song had argued that anyone not understanding his assertion is not qualified to comment on Proof-of-Stake. 

Vitalik Buterin’s Comments 

Hoskinson was not the only one who was shocked by Song’s line of argument, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also responding to the claims on Sunday. Buterin stated that one-line technicalities involving the definition of a line of argument should not be the basis for condemning the line of an argument. 

The Byzantine General’s Problem 

The Byzantine Generals Problem refers to a theory that describes the level of difficulty faced by decentralized systems when they attempt to achieve consensus. For example, Bitcoin uses the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to reach a consensus through miners, each of who serves as an independent general. However, Proof-of-Work is hugely energy intensive, which has given rise to significant concerns around its environmental impacts, with some countries completely banning Bitcoin mining within their borders. Proof-of-Stake solves this problem by being far more efficient while consuming significantly lesser energy. However, Proof-of-Work proponents such as Song have argued that Proof-of-Stake is not completely decentralized.

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