Consensus Mechanism

The Consensus Layer ensures that all participants in the Hela network agree on the same history of transactions. In other words, it defines what actually happened and guarantees finality.

Hela currently leverages Tendermint Core, a proven Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus engine that is fast, secure, and production-tested across multiple blockchains. Combined with Proof of Stake (PoS), this design enables high throughput, instant finality, and strong security guarantees.

What is Tendermint Core?

Tendermint Core is a consensus engine that solves one of the hardest problems in distributed systems:

“How can thousands of computers agree on the same data, even if some of them are faulty or malicious?”

This is known as the Byzantine Generals Problem.

Tendermint achieves Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), meaning the system can keep running and reach agreement as long as less than 1/3 of the validators are dishonest or offline.

How It Works

1. Validators Join by Staking HELA:

   Validators are like referees. To join, they lock up HELA tokens (stake). Only qualified entities (those who have passed requirements like KYC) can become validators.

2. Delegators Support Validators:

   Not everyone has to run a validator node. Regular users can delegate their HELA tokens to validators. In return, they earn a share of the validator’s rewards.

3. Block Proposals & Voting:

   Validators take turns proposing new blocks of transactions. The other validators vote to approve or reject. Once more than two-thirds agree, the block is finalized instantly.

4. Incentives & Penalties:

   • Honest validators earn rewards in HELA tokens.

   • Misbehaving validators (e.g., going offline, double signing, or trying to cheat) face slashing losing part of their stake.

This balance of rewards and penalties ensures validators act in the best interest of the network.

Key Properties of Tendermint on Hela

1. Instant Finality

   Transactions are considered final as soon as they are included in a block. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum (PoW era), there is no need to wait for multiple block confirmations.

2. Fault Tolerance

   • The system can handle up to 33% of validators misbehaving without halting.

   • If more than one-third act maliciously, consensus safety is threatened.

3. Slashing & Accountability

   Validators who act against protocol rules (e.g., double-signing, prolonged downtime) can be slashed, losing part of their staked tokens. This ensures honesty and reliability.

4. Modularity

   The Consensus Layer is separate from the Execution Layer. This separation means Hela can upgrade consensus or execution independently without disrupting the whole chain.

Consensus Roles in Hela

• Validators:

  • Run consensus nodes.

  • Propose and validate blocks.

  • Earn rewards for honest behavior.

• Delegators:

  • Stake HELA by delegating to validators.

  • Share in validator rewards.

  • Help promote decentralization by choosing diverse validators.