# Proof Of Authority In blockchain platforms, consensus mechanisms can be divided into permissionless (Bitcoin, Etherium) and permissioned (Apla, Ethereum Private). In a permissioned blockchain, all nodes are pre-authenticated. This advantage allows the use of consensus types that provide high transaction rate in addition to other benefits. One of these consensus types is Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus. Proof-of-Authority (POA) is a new consensus algorithms family that provides high performance and fault tolerance. In PoA, rights to generate new blocks are awarded to nodes that have proven their authority to do so. To gain this authority and a right to generate new blocks, a node must pass a preliminary authentication. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.fieres.io/consensus-and-validating/proof-of-authority.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.