Related papers: Fast Deterministically Safe Proof-of-Work Consensu…
In Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchains, the average waiting time to generate a block is inversely proportional to the computing power of the miner. To reduce the average block generation time, a group of individual miners can form a mining pool…
Proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency blockchains like Bitcoin secure vast amounts of money. Their operators, called miners, expend resources to generate blocks and receive monetary rewards for their effort. Blockchains are, in principle,…
Blockchain, the technology behind the popular Bitcoin, is considered a "security by design" system as it is meant to create security among a group of distrustful parties yet without a central trusted authority. The security of blockchain…
In this paper we propose a double-linked blockchain data structure that greatly improves blockchain performance and guarantees single chain with no forks. Additionally, with the proposed proof-of-refundable-tax (PoRT) consensus algorithm,…
The consensus algorithm is crucial in blockchain for ensuring the validity and security of transactions across the decentralized network. However, achieving consensus among nodes and packaging blocks in blockchain networks is a complex task…
Selfish mining is strategic rule-breaking to maximize rewards in proof-of-work protocols. Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) are the preferred tool for finding optimal strategies in Bitcoin and similar linear chain protocols. Protocols…
A verifiable random function (VRF in short) is a powerful pseudo-random function that provides a non-interactively public verifiable proof for the correctness of its output. Recently, VRFs have found essential applications in blockchain…
We consider the parameterized verification problem for distributed algorithms where the goal is to develop techniques to prove the correctness of a given algorithm regardless of the number of participating processes. Motivated by an…
A Proof of Secure Erasure (PoSE) is a communication protocol where a verifier seeks evidence that a prover has erased its memory within the time frame of the protocol execution. Designers of PoSE protocols have long been aware that, if a…
Proof of Stake (PoS) is a burgeoning Sybil resistance mechanism that aims to have a digital asset ("token") serve as security collateral in crypto networks. However, PoS has so far eluded a comprehensive threat model that encompasses both…
Bitcoin demonstrated the possibility of a financial ledger that operates without the need for a trusted central authority. However, concerns persist regarding its security and considerable energy consumption. We assess the consensus…
The optimal fault-tolerance achievable by any protocol has been characterized in a wide range of settings. For example, for state machine replication (SMR) protocols operating in the partially synchronous setting, it is possible to…
Proof of Work (PoW) has extensively served as the foundation of blockchain's security, consistency, and tamper-resistance. However, long has it been criticized for its tremendous and inefficient utilization of computational power and…
The performance of existing permissionless smart contract platforms such as Ethereum is limited by the consensus layer. Prism is a new proof-of-work consensus protocol that provably achieves throughput and latency up to physical limits…
Fair exchange protocols let two mutually distrustful parties exchange digital data in a way that neither party can cheat. They have various applications such as the exchange of digital items, or the exchange of digital coins and digital…
Modern web applications replicate their data across the globe and require strong consistency guarantees for their most critical data. These guarantees are usually provided via state-machine replication (SMR). Recent advances in SMR have…
This study explores the intricacies of waiting games, a novel dynamic that emerged with Ethereum's transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS)-based block proposer selection protocol. Within this PoS framework, validators acquire a distinct…
Proof of Stake (PoS) protocols rely on voting mechanisms to reach consensus on the current state. If an enhanced majority of staking nodes, also called validators, agree on a proposed block, then this block is appended to the blockchain.…
A proof of work (PoW) is an important cryptographic construct enabling a party to convince others that they invested some effort in solving a computational task. Arguably, its main impact has been in the setting of cryptocurrencies such as…
A fundamental conflict of many proof-of-work systems is that they want to achieve inclusiveness and security at the same time. We analyze and resolve this conflict with a theory of proof-of-work quorums, which enables a new bridge between…