It doesn’t utilize Proof of Work like Bitcoin, or Proof of Stake like Nxt. Lisk uses a simplified implementation of BitShares’ original consensus algorithm called Delegated Proof of Stake. That means every LSK holder can vote for mainchain delegates which are securing the network. There are only a maximum of 101 active mainchain delegates which always got the most votes on the whole network, and only they can earn block generation rewards, that means there is a financial incentive to become an active delegate. Every other delegate is on standby awaiting to become elected, or alternatively, securing a Lisk sidechain.
Lisk is a cryptocurrency and its token is called LSK. To send LSK from one account to another takes 10 seconds, after about 1–2 minutes the transaction can be deemed immutable.
In the previous section, you read that the Lisk App SDK enables you to deploy a sidechain to Lisk. This sidechain is a fully customisable blockchain, free of pollution or spam on the mainchain or other sidechains. All specifications, parameters, and transaction types can be changed to fit perfectly to your blockchain application.