Validation in the blockchain
Validation in the blockchain
The validation of transactions in a blockchain occurs thanks to a consensus protocol, which is the mechanism that network participants, (called “miners” or “validating nodes” depending on the protocol used) must follow to determine which transactions are valid and, therefore, which transactions are incorporated into the blockchain and which are not.
Basic concepts in the validation in the blockchain
The consensus protocol is the pillar that guarantees the security of the blockchain by confirming that it does not contain erroneous or duplicate data. Thus, for example, it prevents a person from transferring a crypto asset twice.The consensus protocol rewards the “validator nodes or miners” who are responsible for validating transactions and ensuring the integrity of the information collected in the blockchain with native crypto assets from the network itself. In this way, the activity of validating the transactions collected in the network is rewarded through the creation of new native crypto assets. For example, bitcoins are issued in the validation of the Bitcoin network and ethers are issued in the validation of the Ethereum network. In practice, these nodes are computers or servers (with varying degrees of computing power) that use software to validate transactions.
Consensus protocols are therefore the mechanisms by which transactions proposed to the network are validated and included in a block that becomes part of the blockchain ledger, permanently.