Consensus without Mining

One of the key limitations of blockchain is the proof-of-work mechanism used for consensus requires exponential increases in computing power to maintain security over time. Hashgraph overcomes this scalability issue by having nodes rapidly share transaction information to collectively form a " gossip tree" that serves as the consensus history. Through this process, Hashgraph can achieve a level of security and decentralization comparable to proof-of-work blockchains without any mining overhead.

Virtual Voting Approach

At the core of Hashgraph consensus algorithm is a technique called "virtual voting." As nodes gossip transaction information, they cryptographically sign exchange histories known as "events." These events are then combined in a way that mimics how votes would converge if all nodes voted on transaction order in each round. This allows Hashgraph to arrive at an agreed-upon transaction history through a decentralized process without mining.

Speed and Fairness

By rapidly disseminating information across the network using gossip, Hashgraph can reach consensus in just seconds compared to blockchains which may take minutes. It also avoids issues like selfish mining due to properties inherent to its consensus protocol. The virtual voting approach distributes voting power proportionally based on the number of acquaintances each node has, ensuring no nodes can manipulate the consensus sequence unfairly.

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