Proof of Work (PoW) vs. Proof of Stake (PoS) is a classic blockchain debate. I myself have swung back & forth between supporting these two different consensus mechanisms more times than I care to admit. And it's a dern shame that PoS also stands for something else we are all quite familiar with.

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSE9tuHVoxqH36ycGw1XAjPj7kPJjqR4sigviJYnrGAkw/image.png)

Bitcoin introduced the world to cryptocurrency and blockchain #technology. But to maintain the Bitcoin network requires the energy output of a small European nation. I'm not saying, "Bitcoin is Death! Sell all yer coinz, ya friggin' Enironment Destroyer!" Far from it. I just think Bitcoin is Bitcoin. There will never be anything else like it. Let's just keep it that way. Each additional PoW chain that enters the cryptoverse is just another hungry for electricity monster that, if it doesn't get enough hash rate to guarantee its security, will just be 51% attacked anyway. What a waste.

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPmuYwdw1M1JhhJsQe4nGuEuGfPnwDEz1kkQqgBiJih2P/image.png)

As you can see, it really is like Highlander. There can be only one PoW coin that enjoys enough hashrate not to be a target for hackers. So I say let's just keep it at that. Bitcoin is King. Always has been. Always will be. Amen.

That leaves new blockchain projects to run on PoS. At this early stage in the development of the blockchain industry, it is vital that we explore alternative consensus mechanisms. 

Bitcoin's PoW is a virtually unhackable & proven protocol for ensuring distributed state. But it is almost impossible to scale and includes so much wasted computation cycles that, were it to grow into the trillion-dollar asset that many people think it can turn into, the system itself would be an environmental catastrophe. (Let's hope we can green it up before it gets to that point.)

We absolutely have to explore the potential for PoS systems in the future. And not just because of the environmental argument against Bitcoin's Proof of Work system. There are other less controversial, more substantive reasons as well. Proof of Stake consensus mechanisms, if implemented properly with a certain amount of care and a healthy dose of luck, could provide for more equitable micro-economies. 

As currently constructed, however, nearly all cryptocurrency ecosystems, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and yes, STEEM, inordinately reward whales. That's why professional crypto dissers like Nouriel Roubini aren't wrong when they look at all of these incentive mechanisms and confidently yell, "Ponzi!" The early adopters in all of these coins are the ones that stand to reap the greatest rewards.

PoS is the potential solution to these criticisms, but it has not come close at all to the perfection of the PoW protocol. Yet.

So what to do?

Well, that's easy. Do what only comes naturally to the curious at heart:

## Research & Innovate.
#
We'll find a PoS consensus mechanism that solves Vitalik's infamous trilemma - scalability, security and decentralization.

We'll find it soon enough. Just gotta keep working at it.