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What is Ouroboros?

Ouroboros is Cardano's proof-of-stake consensus protocol. It is the first consensus protocol proven to be secure through academic peer review. The name comes from an ancient symbol that represents eternity and symbolizes the theoretical eternity of a blockchain. There have been several versions of Ouroboros: Classic (Byron phase, 2017), BFT (Byron/Shelley phases, 2020), Praos (Shelley phase, 2020), Genesis (planned for 2022), Chronos (in planning), Crypsinous (no deployment planned for Cardano).