What Is the ‘Nonce’ and Its Role in the PoW Component of the PoA Template?
The 'nonce' is a randomly chosen or iterated number that a miner includes in the block header. The miner's goal is to find a nonce that, when hashed together with the rest of the block data, produces a resulting hash value that is below the network's current difficulty target.
This trial-and-error process is the 'work' in Proof-of-Work, and the valid nonce is proof that the work was performed.
Glossar
PoW Component
Algorithm ⎊ Proof-of-Work components fundamentally represent the computational puzzle at the core of blockchain security, dictating the resource intensity required to validate transactions and create new blocks.
Nonce
Function ⎊ A nonce, short for "number only used once," is a crucial component of the block header in Proof-of-Work blockchains.
Iterated Number
Derivation ⎊ An iterated number, within cryptocurrency and financial derivatives, represents a value resulting from repeated application of a defined function or process to an initial input ⎊ often a price or volatility estimate.
PoA
Mechanism ⎊ Proof of Authority (PoA) is a consensus mechanism where transactions are validated by a limited number of pre-approved, trusted validators rather than through competitive mining.