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title: CryptoNight Proof of Work | Monero Documentation
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# CryptoNight Proof of Work

Possibly the most controversial aspect of Monero (and other CryptoNote coins) is the CryptoNight Proof of Work,
composed of 7 functions. Fortunately, the difficulty would auto-adjust should any major PoW "shortcuts" be discovered.
Still, it poses theoretical centralization risk, if the attacker manages to keep PoW exploit secret.