Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) is a consensus approach that combines elements of delegated proof of stake and proof of authority. BNB Smart Chain uses this model: stake helps determine which validators participate, and an active validator set takes turns producing blocks under the network’s rules.
How participation works
Validators operate infrastructure that proposes and checks blocks. In BNB Smart Chain, selection considers their own bonded BNB and delegated stake. Delegators can support a validator without operating its node, but holding or delegating tokens does not automatically make someone an active block producer.
Validators and delegators can receive transaction-fee rewards under the protocol’s distribution and commission rules. Misbehavior and downtime can trigger penalties; precisely whose funds are affected depends on the network’s slashing rules.
Efficiency and concentration
A bounded active set can reduce coordination overhead, but concentrated stake or validator operation can increase exposure to censorship, collusion, or outages. “Authority” refers to permission within the validator set, not necessarily a government license or legal endorsement.
PoSA is not a universal specification with one validator count, block interval, or finality guarantee. Those details depend on the implementation and upgrades. The name alone does not establish a network’s decentralization or resistance to attack.