Consensus Module

NerveChain’s consensus mechanism is built upon the Proof of Credit (PoC) model originally developed by NULS — a secure, fair, and efficient consensus algorithm that combines the strengths of both DPoS and PoS, striking a solid balance between decentralization and performance.

As a decentralized digital asset service network designed to support large-scale applications and services, NerveChain requires high throughput and system stability. To meet these demands, NerveChain introduces an enhanced consensus mechanism called PoCBFT, which extends PoC with Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).

The integration of BFT provides finality to block confirmations, ensuring that once a transaction is included in a block, it cannot be reversed. It also reduces block confirmation time to the second level, significantly improving responsiveness and user experience. In PoCBFT, block confirmation equals transaction confirmation — offering fast, irreversible settlements essential for DeFi and cross-chain applications.

The consensus module is the basis for maintaining the decentralized operation of NerveNetwork. It creates nodes by staking assets and rewards nodes through network blocks, thereby maintaining the security of the network. Currently, creating a node in NerveChain requires a minimum deposit of 200K NVT. The more assets deposited, the higher the node ranking.

In NerveChain, nodes are divided into common nodes, consensus nodes, and virtual bank nodes.

• Common nodes are full nodes in operation (Other nodes are responsible for transaction collection, block and transaction verification and providing services for applications, etc).

• Consensus nodes are nodes that participate in consensus block generation in the network (Consensus node can be created with deposit, which can’ be less than 200,000 NVT and is not capped. The number of consensus nodes is fixed to 35, and the top 35 nodes by deposit are selected to maintain the entire NerveNetwork).

• Virtual bank nodes are nodes in the network that participate in cross-chain asset verification signatures (The top 15 consensus nodes are virtual bank nodes, these nodes jointly sign and manage blockchain assets from different networks, and also manage the casting rights of assets to other networks through NerveNetwork cross-chain bridges).