What Is Hashgraph Consensus?
Let me explain what hashgraph consensus is—it's an alternative to, or perhaps the next evolution of, the technology powering blockchain consensus. Instead of depending on massive computational power from networks to verify transactions, it records and confirms them through a protocol based on node communication.
You can think of a hashgraph as a decentralized ledger, much like a blockchain. It stores information, secures it with cryptography, controls access, and uses that data for verification. But here's where it differs: a hashgraph network achieves consensus in a completely different manner than a blockchain.
This consensus relies on concepts like 'gossip,' 'gossip about gossip,' and virtual voting. The system's designers claim it addresses the flaws in traditional consensus algorithms, such as proof of work (PoW), by delivering better speed and efficiency.
Stick with me as I dive deeper into hashgraph consensus and why it's different—and potentially more efficient—than blockchain mechanisms.
Key Takeaways
- Hashgraph consensus uses information about information rather than the content itself to create consensus.
- Primary information in the hashgraph is called 'gossip,' and secondary information is called 'gossip about gossip.'
- The hashgraph distributed ledger system has not received wide adoption by the crypto community.
Important Note
Hashgraph consensus—incorporating gossip, gossip about gossip, and virtual voting—is the mechanism that the Hedera distributed ledger uses to validate and confirm transactions.
Understanding Hashgraph Consensus
Hashgraph serves as an alternative to blockchain. Like a blockchain, it stores and encrypts data. It generates a hash for transaction information, and new transactions build upon that. However, a blockchain is a ledger made of data blocks, each linked to the previous one and verified by validators to form a single chain. In contrast, a hashgraph isn't just one chain—all information stays in an encrypted ledger, and every user joins in the validation, not only validators.
For instance, if Alice transacts with Bob, she shares all her known information with him. Bob then transacts with Kris and passes on everything he knows. Kris does the same with Eli, and this pattern continues across the network, essentially gossiping about events. Every node ends up knowing what all others know, so there's no need for heavy computational validation.
As this gossip spreads, the network employs algorithms and automation to keep the hashgraph ledger's state updated and consistent.
Gossip
Information about data is what we call 'gossip.' The data structure in a transaction includes a timestamp, more transactions or zeros, two hashes from parent containers, and an encrypted signature.
Those two hashes come from the last events of two syncing nodes comparing their info. Nodes keep creating events and syncing continuously.
Here's a fast fact: Hashgraph—the ledger—is more efficient than blockchain because it doesn't waste energy on blocks that get discarded. All information is retained.
Gossip About Gossip
Information about transaction data is 'gossip about gossip.' The network synchronizes this via 'gossip sync' events, which form a collaborative history of gossip events throughout the hashgraph. This ensures data can't be altered or tampered with, leading to solid consensus.
Virtual Voting
Virtual voting happens when nodes compare events and reach consensus through a voting algorithm. Here's how it works: a transaction gets a timestamp upon receipt by a node. As it spreads, it's assigned a median timestamp from all nodes that received it. That median serves as the vote's result, creating a fairer system than blockchain, where the whole network decides, not just one node.
Fault Tolerance
Like most distributed ledgers and blockchains, there's always a risk of dishonest participants, communication delays, or network latency disrupting node interactions.
Consensus mechanisms handle these by setting fault tolerance criteria. Developers must account for bad actors, poor connections, latency, and other issues. Hashgraph can tolerate up to one-third of the network being malicious. It's reportedly asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerant—the top security level—meaning honest nodes keep operating despite bad actors.
How Is Hashgraph Different From Blockchain?
Hashgraph is a data structure that tracks who told what to whom and in what order. It's a shared history of gossip events as participants add and share info, validating transactions far faster than blockchain.
Blockchain adds prior transaction info to new data and encrypts it, requiring a third party for validation. Hashgraph skips this slow step thanks to its gossip protocol.
Another fast fact: Hashgraph consensus is much quicker than blockchain, with transactions confirmed in seconds, not minutes.
Bitcoin and other cryptos struggle with message timing, but hashgraph's asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance assumes delayed messages will arrive eventually.
For example, if two transactions happen at once, blockchain picks an order—sometimes based on fees or staked tokens, letting one node influence it. Hashgraph avoids this by timestamping each transaction and communicating it network-wide, resolving timing issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Hashgraph Consensus? Hashgraph consensus is a mechanism in a hashgraph distributed ledger for validating transactions.
How Does Hashgraph Consensus Work? It uses consensus timestamps and 'gossip,' where each node shares everything it knows to random nodes in 'gossip events.'
Will Hashgraph Replace Blockchain? Hashgraph is designed and marketed as an improvement over blockchain, but its future dominance is uncertain—it lacks the developer interest and adoption that blockchain has.
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