DRBFT: Delegated randomization Byzantine fault tolerance consensus protocol for blockchains

Abstract

Blockchain, as a potentially revolutionary technology, has been used in cryptocurrency to record transactions chronologically among multiple parties. Due to the fast development of the blockchain and its de-centralization, blockchain technology has been applied in broader scenarios, such as smart factories, supply chains, and smart cities. Consensus protocol plays a vital role in the blockchain, which addresses the issue of reaching consensus on transaction results among involved participants. Nevertheless, with the complexity of the network environment and growing amount of network users, the advance of blockchain is gradually restricted by the efficiency, security and reliability of consensus protocols. In this paper, we propose a delegated randomization Byzantine fault tolerance consensus protocol named DRBFT based on Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) to enhance the efficiency and reliability of the consensus procedure. Specifically, a random selection algorithm called RS is developed to cooperate with the voting mechanism, which can effectively reduce the number of nodes participating in the consensus process. Our proposed scheme is characterized by the unpredictability, randomicity and impartiality, which accelerate the system to reach consensus on the premise of ensuring the system activity. Furthermore, the feasibility of our proposed scheme is also proved by both theoretical analysis and experimental evaluations.