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How does proof of stake work?

Published Sep 18, 2026Updated Sep 19, 2026Last verified Sep 18, 2026Requests recorded in this site’s own server logs, with the crawler identity checked by reverse DNS or IP range.Google9OpenAI7First collected Sep 18, 2026Recent requestsGoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026
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Quick answer

In proof of stake, validators lock up tokens as collateral. The protocol then picks them to propose and vote on blocks. On Ethereum, time is split into 12-second slots, with 32 slots in each epoch. In every slot, one randomly chosen validator proposes a block and a random committee votes on it. When validators holding at least two-thirds of all staked ETH approve a pair of checkpoints, those blocks become final. Validators earn rewards for correct work and can be slashed for provable misbehaviour.

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Answer

Ethereum validators deposit at least 32 ETH and run execution, consensus and validator software [1][6]. Blocks are finalized through checkpoint votes from two-thirds of the stake [1].

Sources

  1. officialProof-of-stake (PoS) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  2. officialProof-of-stake vs proof-of-work — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  3. officialThe Merge — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  4. officialEthereum proof-of-stake attack and defense — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  5. officialProof-of-stake Frequently Asked Questions — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  6. officialPrague-Electra (Pectra) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  7. newsEthereum Activates 'Pectra' Upgrade, Raising Max Stake to 2,048 ETH — CoinDesk · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  8. officialEthereum's energy usage will soon decrease by ~99.95% — Ethereum Foundation Blog · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  9. academicOuroboros: A Provably Secure Proof-of-Stake Blockchain Protocol (Advances in Cryptology – CRYPTO 2017, pp. 357–388, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-63688-7_12) — University of Edinburgh Research Explorer / Springer · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  10. otherPeercoin — Wikipedia · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  11. officialProof-of-stake — Octez & Protocol documentation — Tezos / Octez documentation · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page
  12. governmentStatement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporation Finance · accessed Sep 20, 2026 · Evidence page