Blockchain: A comparative analysis of hybrid consensus algorithm and performance evaluation

Abstract

The security of data and information is a critical concern in the rapidly evolving IT industry. Blockchain technology emerges as an innovative way of enhancing data security through the secure transmission of digital assets without a trusted third party or central administrator. Blockchain's fundamental principles of decentralization, immutability, and transparency are applicable in a variety of fields, including finance, supply chain management, healthcare, digital voting, and the Internet of Things. This research explores the underlying protocols of blockchain networks, specifically focusing on consensus mechanisms that enable transaction agreement and validation. The widespread adoption of blockchain technology faces significant challenges in achieving scalability and efficient consensus mechanisms. This research addresses these crucial limitations by proposing a novel hybrid consensus approach designed to enhance usability, security, and scalability. The proposed consensus mechanism incorporates a dynamic difficulty adjustment mechanism. The difficulty of validating blocks dynamically adjusts based on transaction volume and overall validator participation. Furthermore, a slashing mechanism is implemented to penalize validators engaging in malicious behavior by reducing their stake. Our analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed scheme in addressing several key concerns associated with blockchain, including reducing energy consumption, minimizing the probability of forks, and mitigating the level of mining centralization found in the consensus algorithm.