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Spacemesh: A New Consensus Protocol Anton Learner

Proof of Work cryptocurrency mining, as used on the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains, requires huge amounts of energy to validate transactions and generate new tokens. The alternative, Proof of Stake, needs large deposits of assets to be staked up front in order to work. While both consensus protocols have their own drawbacks, they are the current industry standards.

The company Spacemesh developed a new consensus protocol with the goal of powering an energy-efficient, decentralized, secure, and scalable smart contracts global computer and a cryptocurrency in the permissionless settings. They call their protocol Proof of Space Time which works on a blockmesh structure rather than a blockchain. The Spacemesh protocol allows newcomers to contribute to the security of the cryptocurrency network via unused storage space on their hard drives, driving down energy consumption and enabling anyone with a computer to contribute. 

In this episode we talk to Anton Learner, Core Team Lead at Spacemesh. 

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