Achieving Consensus in Distributed Ledgers: A Comparative Analysis of Consensus Mechanisms in Blockchain

Abstract

Blockchain technology has emerged as a foundational element of the digital economy, enabling secure, transparent, and decentralized transactions across diverse domains. Although numerous consensus algorithms have been proposed, existing studies often examine them in isolation or from a limited set of metrics. This paper presents a comprehensive and integrated comparative analysis of major consensus mechanisms—Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), Delegated PoS (DPoS), Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), and Federated BFT (FBFT). We systematically evaluate their verification processes, performance metrics, security trade-offs, and application contexts. Our contribution lies in consolidating these aspects into a unified framework that highlights critical design trade-offs and decision criteria for selecting appropriate consensus protocols. This work aims to support researchers and practitioners in developing and deploying more efficient and secure blockchain systems.