As we know there are several protocols under which various cryptocurrencies are "launched" to work in a particular blockchain; which are nothing more than derivations of the base protocol of Proof of Work under which Satoshi Nakamoto was based on his whitepaper for Bitcoin.

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The cryptocurrency networks are insured by the miners, who process the transactions and avoid fraud. In the case of Proof of Work (PoW) protocols, that's power.

For the PoS, they are the platform's own currencies. The Participation or Proof of Stake systems, as they are known in English, also allow their users to "lease" their balance of coins to the miners, thereby playing an important role in the security of the network and obtaining some of the rewards without the overhead of having to run a complete node by themselves.

If a blockchain network is maintained by Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Membership (PoS), having sufficient resources to guarantee the security of the platform is essential.

For the Work Test (PoW) that means Hashrate: the number of calculations per second done collectively by the miners. The higher this number, the more difficult it will be for an entity to attack the protocol, since it would need greater processing power than that contributed by the whole group.

In the case of Proof of Stake (PoS), it means ensuring that a sufficient proportion of coin holders use their balance for mining. Miners are often called intermediaries in systems like this.

If only 10% of the coins are used to secure the network, it may be possible for a large holder as a fraudulent exchange to use their Share to alter the blockchain in their favor.

Encouraging holders to use their Participation to mine is one of the most important aspects of the blockchain ecosystem based on PoS protocols. The miners receive commissions for the transactions signed and / or approved by each block, and in some cases greater rewards such as the example of the Waves platform; which dedicates a token called Miner's Reward Token (MKT) that is designed to give miners a second source of income until the volume of transactions reaches a certain limit.

However, this still does not guarantee high levels of participation. Many holders of these cryptocurrencies may not feel comfortable with the technical side of configuring a node, or it may be impossible to access the necessary infrastructure they require for one reason or another (busy servers, storage, bandwidth, etc.).

Moreover, small owners can simply find it unprofitable: there are fixed costs for mining, and if your balance is not enough to overcome them even with the rewards it will not be attractive.

Finally, specific protocols may not allow certain nodes to mine with a small balance: which may be an open bridge to potential attack vectors.

Like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies based on PoW protocols, they have mining groups (pools) to share the Hashrate and receive small regular payments for the processing power they bring to the network; in PoS systems, currencies can also share resources.

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In this case, however, small coin owners can lease their balance to a complete node, and correspondingly receive rewards in proportion to the number of coins contributed.

Thus, if a pool has a total of 100,000 coins, an owner who leases 1,000 coins can receive 1% of the rewards (subject to the terms set by the group owner).

When renting a balance, the coins are blocked but remain in total control of the owner. They are not transferred to the pool, but remain in the same direction - only they can not be spent until the lease is canceled. The rental and cancellation of the contract can be done from an ordinary wallet, without the need for additional technical knowledge.

Different mining pools have different payment terms. Some charge a fee, others do not, since it is a service to the community and to the network itself.

Some incorporate a group into a broader business model or use their sites and their presence in the crypto world to generate income in other ways.

Some of the Waves Platform mining groups, for example, have their own tokens, rewarding those who rent their balances in a fee of transaction fees, MRT and other tokens.

The general effect is to increase the participation of platform users in mining. This increases the security of the network, increases the number of long-term owners and, therefore, increases the value of the currency for all.