DOGE’s lead developer refutes rumors about Dogecoin’s transition to POS

Dogecoin core developer Michi Lumin took to Twitter to dispel rumors about Dogecoin’s possible move to proof of stake. This sentiment was likely fueled by remarks from Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin. Shortly after the Ethereum meltdown, Vitalik Buterin expressed hope that other blockchains like Dogecoin and Zcash would follow suit.

…If and when a proposal exists, there will be MUCH community deliberation before next moves. Sorry for being so long winded on this but it seems I have to say it several different ways for people to understand. A sudden and forced “move” to PoS is not possible for #dogecoin…

– Michi Lumin (@michilumin) December 29, 2022

The consensus mechanism “proof of stake“(POS) is based on staking, while the “proof of work“(POW) used by Dogecoin is based on mining. Dogecoin is now the second largest POW chain after Bitcoin.

According to developer DOGE Core, influencers, despite the huge audience they seem to have, may not be aware of what’s going on with Dogecoin.

Michi Lumin adds that it might be relevant to understand how the changes work on a blockchain like Dogecoin, which is closer to the old Bitcoin technology than to modern ERC20 tokens.

According to Michi Lumin, Dogecoin works by “consensus“, so Dogecoin’s transition to proof of stake was not possible, and an individual or entity could not plan to do so. “A sudden and forced shift to proof of stake is not possible for Dogecoin“, she wrote.

The best that can be done is for the party to outline it in a proposal or even the code, with the community and validators deciding whether to take it up.

She refutes plans to move Dogecoin to proof of stake, stating, ” No, there is no ‘plan’ to ‘move’ Dogecoin to PoS. “

Instead, she alluded to a plan to be given to the community for its consideration – a proposal for it.

Given the community’s current disposition in this regard, Lumin anticipated that such a plan would be met with hostility. She noted that such a proposal might differ from the traditional SOP in many respects.

The Dogecoin developer concluded that such plans would exist only as a proposal until they received broad approval to move forward.