worldwiki
informational

Is proof of stake secure?

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.Meta32OpenAI25Google23Anthropic5Ahrefs2Parallel2Apple1Microsoft1Perplexity1Yandex1First collected Sep 18, 2026Recent requestsGoogleNov 3, 2026AhrefsOct 31, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 12, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 12, 2026AhrefsOct 10, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 9, 2026MicrosoftOct 9, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 9, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 4, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 2026Meta · unverifiedOct 3, 2026
Request a correction
LanguagesEnglishWritten for this market; it is not a translation of another page.
Quick answer

Proof of stake can be secure, but its security depends on how the stake is spread among validators. On Ethereum, an attacker with 33% of the stake could stop blocks from being finalized. With more than 50%, it could censor transactions. With 66% or more, it could finalize its own version of history. Ethereum's defences include slashing, the inactivity leak, weak subjectivity checkpoints against long-range attacks, and community coordination to recover from an attack.

74 words12 sources

Answer

Known weaknesses discussed in the literature include the nothing-at-stake problem and long-range attacks [4][5]. Critics also point to stake becoming concentrated through liquid staking providers [2][5].

Sources

  1. officialProof-of-stake (PoS) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page
  2. officialProof-of-stake vs proof-of-work — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  3. officialThe Merge — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page
  4. officialEthereum proof-of-stake attack and defense — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  5. officialProof-of-stake Frequently Asked Questions — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  6. officialPrague-Electra (Pectra) — ethereum.org · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  7. newsEthereum Activates 'Pectra' Upgrade, Raising Max Stake to 2,048 ETH — CoinDesk · accessed Oct 29, 2026 · Evidence page
  8. officialEthereum's energy usage will soon decrease by ~99.95% — Ethereum Foundation Blog · accessed Nov 11, 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 Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  10. otherPeercoin — Wikipedia · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page
  11. officialProof-of-stake — Octez & Protocol documentation — Tezos / Octez documentation · accessed Nov 11, 2026 · Evidence page
  12. governmentStatement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporation Finance · accessed Nov 10, 2026 · Evidence page