OKX Blockchain 60 Lessons | Episode 15: What is a Consensus Mechanism?
"OKX Blockchain 60 Lessons" is a blockchain educational animated video series produced jointly by OKX and Sina Technologies. Targeting users with zero knowledge of blockchain, it uses articles and animated content to vividly explain blockchain concepts from the perspectives of concepts, technology, and applications through 5 major sections and 60 knowledge points. The course content for this episode was guided by Instructor Cao Yin, Advisor to Estonia's Digital Nation Initiative.
Hello everyone, I'm Xiao K. Today we're going to talk about: "What is a Consensus Mechanism?"
As we discussed in the previous lesson, a critical issue that distributed networks must solve is the "Byzantine Generals Problem." As a typical representative of distributed networks, blockchain employs a series of new technologies to solve this problem — and this technology is the Consensus Mechanism.
In simple terms, a consensus mechanism is a set of rules that every node must follow. It is also one of the four core technologies of blockchain. The consensus mechanism primarily serves to coordinate all nodes to maintain consistent ledger records.
Why is that the case? As we all know, blockchain is decentralized and built on distributed ledger technology, so anyone can freely join and become a node. But think about it — absolute freedom inevitably leads to absolute chaos. If everyone freely processes data in the network, what would happen to the entire network?
For example, when I join as a node and some data is generated in the network, I process it using Method A, while another person processes it using Method B. Since our processing methods differ and our permissions are equal, whose processed data should be used? Once we cannot reach consensus, the entire network can easily diverge and become chaotic.
Additionally, in this environment, I don't know the other nodes and there's no centralized authority to provide guarantees — so how can I be certain that the data processed by other nodes is correct?
In other words, in a decentralized environment without a central node to make decisions and assist network operations, the network can hardly run autonomously in a free environment.
To solve this problem, Satoshi Nakamoto came up with an idea: although there is no central node in the entire network to make decisions, a set of rules can be established so that this rule becomes a centralized mechanism that every node must follow, helping the network run autonomously — much like how laws constrain every member of society.
The rule should cover two key points: First, how each node in the distributed ledger should keep records; second, how different nodes can exchange information and reach consensus.
Specifically, through a certain method, it determines who obtains the bookkeeping rights in the blockchain. Whoever holds the bookkeeping rights, the entire network uses the data processed by that person. Moreover, this person can also receive rewards for packaging blocks, while anyone who attempts to harm the network will face corresponding penalties.
This way, even without a centralized node, every node can act in a relatively unified manner, and the small databases of each node can maintain consistent data. This enables a distributed network to run in a relatively orderly fashion.
Overall, a consensus mechanism is a system that constrains every dispersed node in a decentralized network, maintaining the system's operational order and fairness, enabling every unrelated node to verify and confirm the data in the network, thus building trust and reaching consensus.
If we think of blockchain as a society, then the consensus mechanism is the law of that world — everyone must abide by it. It not only solves the problem of trust but also maintains the normal operation of the entire blockchain society.
Special thanks to Instructor Cao Yin for his assistance and guidance on the content of this episode.
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