Proof of History (PoH) – breakthrough or overhyped technology?

I have been following the development of blockchain technology for a long time, and to be honest – PoH both fascinates and alarms me. This consensus mechanism, which is used in blockchain networks to create chronological timestamps of events, evokes mixed feelings in me.

My acquaintance with PoH

When I first encountered the concept of Proof of History on Solana, I was struck by the simplicity and elegance of the idea. Imagine: instead of constantly asking each other "when did this happen?", nodes can just look at the built-in timestamp! Genius and... suspiciously simple.

The essence of PoH is a sequential hashing process, where each new hash is built on the previous one. It results in something like a cryptographic chain of time. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? But how well it actually works is another question.

Why I Don't Fully Believe in PoH

Yes, Solana boasts the ability to handle up to 65,000 transactions per second compared to the meager 7 of Bitcoin. But I've seen this network go down several times! What kind of reliability can we be talking about?

And it annoys me this eternal race for speed. Bitcoin is slow? At least it hasn't been "down" for years! I would prefer to wait for a transaction confirmation than lose money due to another failure in the operation of a super-fast network.

Influence on the market — real or a marketing ploy?

While all these "experts" praise PoH as a revolutionary technology, I see projects on Solana soaring to the skies and then crashing to the ground. This volatility is alarming.

And yes, of course, for NFT projects like Degenerate Ape Academy, speed is important. But let's be honest – most users do not need 65,000 transactions per second. They need stability and confidence that their money is safe.

What’s next?

Other platforms have started to look into similar mechanisms. By combining PoH with other consensus protocols, we may indeed create something worthwhile. But for now, I remain skeptical.

Large trading platforms are certainly interested in fast and efficient technologies. But will they risk stability for the sake of speed? Time will tell, but I wouldn't rush to transfer all my assets to platforms that exclusively use PoH.

The technology is interesting, but it needs more time to prove its reliability. For now, I prefer to watch from the sidelines and not rush to conclusions.