Block Manufacturer
In short: A block manufacturer, more commonly called a block producer (BP), is a person or group whose hardware is selected to validate transactions and create the…
A block manufacturer, more commonly called a block producer (BP), is a person or group whose hardware is selected to validate transactions and create the next block. The role appears in many Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain networks, especially those that use delegated Proof of Stake.
Why it matters
In delegated Proof of Stake networks such as EOS, token holders vote for a limited group of block producers who take turns creating blocks. Other PoS networks use names such as validator or proposer for a similar role. Producers earn rewards and fees for their work, but depending on the network they can lose votes, rewards or part of their stake if they go offline or break the rules. Because they decide which transactions go into a block and in what order, a small or colluding group of producers can weaken a network's decentralization.
Example
On a delegated Proof of Stake network, token holders vote for block producer candidates, and the candidates with the most votes form the active set. The protocol schedules them one after another. When it is a producer's turn, its node gathers pending transactions, checks that they are valid, packs them into a block, signs it and broadcasts it for the other producers to confirm. If a producer keeps missing its turns, voters can move their support to another candidate.