💭 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chains like Ethereum & Solana rely on economic incentives. Stake tokens → earn rewards. Cheat → get slashed.But what if the reward for cheating is bigger than the punishment? More below.

In 2023, attackers spent ~$10K to become Ethereum validators. They exploited MEV-Boost to steal $25M in stablecoins. The block was valid. The network approved it. The exploit worked because PoS only verifies outputs, not how the block was built.

PoS assumes attackers are rational...motivated only by profit. But what if they’re not? State-level actors could sabotage a PoS chain to cause economic damage, even at a loss. PoS offers no defense against attackers who don’t care about money.

Why is this possible? Because in PoS, anyone with money can validate blocks - no identity or reputation required. Malicious actors can enter anonymously, exploit, and vanish. That’s the tradeoff when stake = access.

Stellar takes a different approach. Its Proof-of-Agreement (PoA) model is based on trust, not tokens. To become a validator, you need to be trusted by others. No trust? No influence. It’s staking reputation over coins.

PoA shuts the door on anonymous block producers, MEV abuse, and irrational attacks. It’s not perfect, but the Stellar approach offers something PoS can’t: Accountability.

More from @gttyson here -->