What lesson did Jax.Network learn from the Tron problem?
2 min readOn the 11th of August 2018, Tron (TRX) introduced a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to replace the existing Proof-of-Stake algorithm for the Tron network. The DPoS system extends the PoS method, which uses an ongoing voting and reputation system to achieve consensus. Community members vote for their respective super representatives, who would then verify transactions and earn rewards.
Tron problems
The problem with DPoS has been the same as with the PoS based mechanism; the centralization of power within the blockchain. Centralization occurs when community members who can stake more than others become central candidates to acquire the most votes in the election process. The problem became apparent in November 2020, when the Tron blockchain halted the creation and verification of blocks due to the appearance of a malicious contract against a super representative. Tron claims that the DPoS system gives the Tron community a self-governing network. However, the apparent problems with it are identical to the PoS consensus system, where those with the majority token share can govern almost all mining and verification activity.
Further cracks in the flailing DPoS consensus system appeared in 2019, when the former CTO and one of the founders of the Tron network Lucien Chen exited the project, having made severe claims against Tron. He pointed to the introduction of the DPoS system as the most significant reason for his departure, as it made the network “pseudo-decentralized”.
The solution introduced by Jax.Network
Jax.Network offers a consensus mechanism based on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) system. Instead of centralized staking or voting processes, miners compete against each other to solve cryptographic hash functions to verify transactions on the network and get rewarded. The PoW system requires more energy and time to operate. However, PoW solves a pertinent issue of blockchain centralization, as apparent with Tron PoS and DPoS networks.
In addition, the Jax.Network PoW consensus mechanism provides greater security to the network, disabling malicious collusion among so-called “super representatives.” For a single transaction to be processed, 51% of the mining consensus must implement this change on the blockchain.
Furthermore, to aid the stability and scalability of the blockchain, the JaxNet protocol is merged-mined with the BTC blockchain. According to the Jax.Network Litepaper, this anchor provides miners on Jax.Network with an opportunity to mine the BTC blockchain along with Jax.Network beacon and shard chains. Moreover, being anchored to BTC allows Jax.Network to acquire global transactional value and earn greater early adoption and higher security at an early stage of the development.
Learning from the misfortunes of Tron
The PoW consensus mechanism enables Jax.Network to avoid the struggles experienced by Tron. The Jax.Network platform brings a secure, stable, decentralized blockchain anchored to the BTC network, offering merge-mining opportunities to miners. Jax.Network also provides a unique reward function, where miners are rewarded according to the hash power they bring to the network. This reward function helps to bring a fully decentralized stablecoin to the BTC ecosystem.
