Too Long; Didn't Read
Could Block Proposals Be Fair and Efficient Without Proof of Work (PoW)? Could block proposals be fair and efficient without PoW? The answer is a simple cryptographic puzzle whose solution is arrived at by making rapid guesses, and whoever guessed the right answer first is chosen to produce the next block on the network. This simple algorithm simultaneously provides true randomness which make block proposals fair and decentralized, a delay to ensure sufficient time for propagation to minimize forking, and an economic stake in the form of hardware and electric power investments.