A method for establishing consensus between a plurality of distributed nodes connected via a data communication network includes preparing a set of random numbers, wherein each of the random numbers is a share of an initial secret, wherein each share of the initial secret corresponds to one of a plurality of active nodes; encrypting, in order to generate encrypted shares of the initial secret, each respective share of the initial secret with a shared key corresponding to respective one of the plurality of active nodes to which the respective share corresponds; applying a bitwise xor function to the set of random numbers to provide the initial secret; and binding the initial secret to a last counter value to provide a commitment and a signature for the last counter. The method includes generating shares of a second and of a plurality of subsequent additional secrets by iteratively applying a hash function.