🔐ChainLocks
ChainLocks: Securing HootChain Against 51% Attacks
Hoot employs a powerful feature called ChainLocks to guarantee the validity of transactions and prevent malicious actors from manipulating the blockchain. This mechanism leverages a technology called Long-Living Masternode Quorums (LLMQ) to achieve near-instantaneous confirmation and eliminate the risk of 51% mining attacks.
Here's a breakdown of how ChainLocks work:
Selecting the Stakeholders: For each new block added to the blockchain, a small group of masternodes are chosen from the LLMQ pool. These masternodes act as guardians responsible for verifying the block's legitimacy.
Reaching Consensus: Each participating masternode in the selected group examines the block and signs it if it's the first valid block they see extending the current blockchain.
Building Consensus: If majority of the chosen masternodes agree on the same block, they collaborate to create a special message called a "clsig" message. This message essentially signifies their collective approval of the block.
Network-Wide Announcement: The clsig message is then broadcast throughout the entire Hoot's Blockchain, informing all nodes about the approved block.
Enforcing the Decision: Once a valid clsig message is received by a node, it becomes crucial. The node is programmed to reject any alternative blocks (or any future blocks linked to them) at the same height that contradict the block specified in the clsig message. This ensures a quick, clear, and unambiguous decision on the valid chain of blocks.
Preventing Double Spend: ChainLocks effectively prevent malicious actors from attempting to do double spend attack by gaining control of more than half of the mining power on the network. This significantly strengthens the security of the blockchain.
It's important to note that ChainLocks work in tandem with HootChain's InstantSend feature. Before a ChainLock is attempted for a block, all transactions within that block must be secured using InstantSend's locking mechanism. This ensures that the transactions are verified and cannot be reversed, further solidifying the integrity of the chain.
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