Introducing the PoC Consensus Mechanism
Welcome to our introductory post that’s kickstarting a series of informal and detailed articles breaking down Care.Chain’s robust ecosystem. In the Care.Chain 101 series we will explore the key features of Care.Chain and why it is worth getting excited about.
Come down the rabbit hole with us as we explore what makes Care.Chain unique and its advantages over other blockchains.
Today, we will be discussing Proof-of-Competence (PoC), a unique consensus mechanism developed by Solve.Care to ensure that all actors on the chain are Good Actors. However, PoC is more than just a consensus mechanism validation system.
But let’s talk a little bit about what a consensus mechanism is.
A blockchain validator consensus mechanism is a process by which a decentralized network of nodes agrees on the validity of transactions and the state of the blockchain ledger. Validators participate in the consensus mechanism by verifying transactions and are rewarded for their work in maintaining the network.
The most common consensus mechanisms are Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and are currently used by popular blockchains like Bitcoin and Cardano. Etherum once ran on a PoW mechanism but has switched to PoS in search for more scalability, less energy consumption, and more efficiency.
However there are some notable downsides to PoS consensus mechanisms some of which we discuss in our Care.Chain Blog released on March 30. Essentially, PoS network requires users to stake or deposit their tokens in a smart contract. And, some PoS networks have lockup periods in which they must wait to withdraw their tokens. In addition to this, in a PoS network, there is no way to ensure that these validators are who they say they are. They could be made up of bad actors who have ill-intent.
For us in the healthcare industry, that makes it extremely difficult to make us compliant with regulators in many countries. So not only did we find a way to create a compliant blockchain but also one that is scalable and flexible to meet the needs of anyone’s specific Care.Network.
In the early days of blockchain technology, Bitcoin’s network was built for a way to store and transfer wealth or currency in a peer-to-peer way. Next came Ethereum, which opened the door to smart contracts and decentralized finance DeFi. And now, we have Solve.Care’s specific-based blockchain that looks to revolutionize the healthcare industry.
We have come to a stage in the evolution of blockchain where we have a new consensus mechanism — PoC, that will herald the age of enterprise adoption of blockchain technology.
A blockchain validator consensus mechanism is a critical component of any blockchain network as it ensures the integrity and security of the network. The PoC mechanism keeps its integrity by making it nearly impossible for bad actors to validate the network by enforcing strict requirements to become a validator.
Before we dive into the details, let’s define what we mean by “Good Actors.” In the context of Care.Chain, Good Actors are individuals or institutions that have the necessary competence and qualifications to provide healthcare services or advice. By ensuring that all actors on the chain are Good Actors, Care.Chain can provide a high level of security, accuracy, and compliance to the healthcare industry.
So, what is Proof-of-Competence (PoC), and how does it work? PoC is a mechanism that verifies and validates the competency of all actors on the Care.Chain network. There are currently three actor roles identified for Care.Chain: Publishers, Reviewers, and Validators.
- Publishers are qualified individuals or institutions that publish Care.NFTs, which provide healthcare advice for users to improve their health and well-being.
- Reviewers are actors who provide a check-and-balance to ensure that no Care.NFTs are published that would cause harm. (They must provide their seal of approval before any Care.NFT can be published)
- Validators are hosts of nodes who validate events that happen on the chain. They are made up of licensed healthcare professionals and/or institutions, such as doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, labs, etc.
PoC is a totally new consensus mechanism introduced to the blockchain world.
To become a verified and trusted Validator, they must have the necessary recognized healthcare licenses to prove that they are healthcare professionals. This ensures that only qualified and competent healthcare entities can validate events on the chain.
CEO Pradeep Goel explains why PoC is needed to become validators on Care.Chain
PoC is more than just a validator system. It also enables actors on the Care.Chain network to prove their medical qualifications and identification with zero-knowledge proof on the blockchain, ensuring data privacy and security.
PoC enables Care.Chain to be compliant with the highly regulated healthcare industry. It is because of this that healthcare enterprises will be able to adopt it without fear of contravening any regulations, leading to the worldwide adoption of Care.Chain.
In summary, Proof-of-Competence is a unique consensus mechanism developed by Solve.Care to ensure that all actors on the Care.Chain network are Good Actors. By verifying and validating the competency of all actors on the network, Care.Chain can provide a high level of security, accuracy, and compliance to the healthcare industry.
Stay tuned for our next blog post in the Care.Chain 101 series, where we will explore the role of SOLVE on the Care.Chain network.
If there is something you would like to learn more about or an area to dive deeper into, you can always reach out to our developing team and community on our Telegram or Discord channels.
