What is the name of the consensus algorithm used by the Algorand blockchain?

The consensus algorithm used by the Algorand blockchain is Pure Proof-of-Stake.

Algorand’s Pure Proof-of-Stake, usually abbreviated PPoS, was designed by MIT computer scientist Silvio Micali and introduced with the Algorand network in 2019. Instead of requiring miners to perform energy-intensive computations, it uses the amount of ALGO held by users to influence their probability of participating in consensus.

Algorand uses cryptographic sortition to select small, unpredictable committees for proposing and approving blocks. Participants privately determine whether they have been chosen, then prove their selection to the network. This helps reduce communication demands while making it difficult for attackers to target committee members in advance.

A common mix-up is confusing PPoS with ordinary Proof-of-Stake, Delegated Proof-of-Stake, or Proof of Work. Algorand’s system is a specialized form of stake-based consensus: users do not permanently vote themselves into a small delegate group, and the network does not rely on mining puzzles. Algorand’s native cryptocurrency is ALGO.