Verifiable Computing Applications in Blockchain

Silvio Simunic,Dalen Bernaca,Kristijan Lenac

doi:10.1109/access.2021.3129314

Silvio Simunic, Dalen Bernaca + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2021.3129314

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Abstract

From weak clients outsourcing computational tasks to more powerful machines, to distributed blockchain nodes needing to agree on the state of the ledger in the presence of adversarial nodes, there is a growing need to efficiently verify the results of computations delegated to untrusted third parties. Verifiable computing is a new and interesting research area that addresses this problem. Recently, new applications of verifiable computing techniques have emerged in blockchain technology for secure key management, sybil-resistance and distributed consensus, and smart contracts, while providing desired performance and privacy guarantees. In this paper, we provide an overview of common methods for verifying computation and present how they are applied to blockchain technology. We group the presented verifiable computing applications into five main application areas, i.e., multiparty approval for secure key management, sybil-resistance and consensus, smart contracts and oracles, scalability, and privacy. The main contribution of this survey is to answer two research questions: 1) what are the main application areas of verifiable computing in blockchain technology, and 2) how are verifiable computing techniques used in major blockchain projects today.

Highlights

Verifiable computing allows a client to delegate computation to possibly untrusted clients while retaining the ability to verify the results
We provide an overview of verifiable computing techniques, focusing on their use in the decentralised setting of blockchain technology
The main research questions we address are: 1) what are the main application areas of verifiable computing in blockchain technology, and 2) how are verifiable computing techniques used in major blockchain projects today

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Verifiable computing (or verifiable computation) allows a client to delegate computation to possibly untrusted clients while retaining the ability to verify the results. It is a distributed, decentralized, and shared ledger that requires no central authority and eliminates the need for third-party verification [10]. Šimunicet al.: Verifiable Computing Applications in Blockchain public ledger to record all transactions It provides trust when the parties involved do not trust each other. The high energy consumption of the PoW consensus protocol and limited transaction throughput motivated the development of alternative mechanisms such as Proof-of- Useful-Work (PoUW) [13], which focuses on solving practical problems instead of cryptographic puzzles, and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) [14], which uses stake in the blockchain, i.e. cryptocurrency supporting the blockchain network, as voting power. We conclude with a discussion and summary of the work presented

VERIFIABLE COMPUTING

SECURE KEY MANAGEMENT

CONCLUSION

Design