> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.arcology.network/arcology-architecture-overview/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.arcology.network/arcology-architecture-overview/consensus.md). # Consensus The consensus part is only very loosely coupled with the rest of the system. The service communicates and interacts with other services via a set of standard network interfaces. The specific consensus algorithm used within the service is completely invisible from outside. The underlying algorithm can be replaced or updated independently from other services or the overall workflow. It is pretty much plug & play ready. Arcology's consensus algorithm named multifactor, which is an upgraded version of the conventional PoS. For now, Arcology is using a general BFT implementation on the testnets with some major optimizations to the consensus workflow. The efforts have been focused on following aspects: * Parallelization between the proposer and validators * Metablock only * Fine-grained locks for validator state synchronization Arcology will move to its own consensus algorithm called multifactor in the future. Please check out Arcology’s whitepaper for more details. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## 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.arcology.network/arcology-architecture-overview/consensus.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.