# Proof of Stake

*Crypto & Digital Assets — Finicade finance glossary*

Proof of stake secures a chain with capital instead of electricity: validators post tokens as collateral and lose them for misbehaving. It cuts energy use by orders of magnitude and lowers the barrier to participation. The standing critique is that it tends toward concentration — the largest holders earn the most rewards and therefore grow their share, which is a different centralisation risk from mining pools rather than an absent one.

**Also known as:** PoS, proof-of-stake consensus

**Related terms:** [Staking](https://finicade.com/glossary/staking), [Validator](https://finicade.com/glossary/validator), [Proof of Work](https://finicade.com/glossary/proof-of-work), [Ethereum](https://finicade.com/glossary/ethereum), [Consensus Mechanism](https://finicade.com/glossary/consensus-mechanism)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/proof-of-stake