On Proof-of-Accuracy Consensus Protocols

Abstract

Consensus protocols are a fundamental part of any blockchain; although several protocols have been in operation for several years, they still have drawbacks. For instance, some may be susceptible to a 51% attack, also known as a majority attack, which may suppose a high risk to the trustworthiness of the blockchains. Although this attack is theoretically possible, executing it in practice is often regarded as arduous because of the premise that, with sufficiently active members, it is not ’straightforward’ to have much computing power. Since it represents a possible vulnerability, the community has made efforts to solve this and other blockchain problems, which has resulted in the birth of alternative consensus protocols, e.g., the proof of accuracy protocol. This paper presents a detailed proposal of a proof-of-accuracy protocol. It aims to democratize the miners’ participation within a blockchain, control the miners’ computing power, and mitigate the majority attacks.