Proof Of Stake Research Articles

Delegated Proof of Stake Consensus Mechanism Based on Community Discovery and Credit Incentive.

Consensus algorithms are the core technology of a blockchain and directly affect the implementation and application of blockchain systems. Delegated proof of stake (DPoS) significantly reduces the time required for transaction verification by selecting representative nodes to generate blocks, and it has become a mainstream consensus algorithm. However, existing DPoS algorithms have issues such as "one ballot, one vote", a low degree of decentralization, and nodes performing malicious actions. To address these problems, an improved DPoS algorithm based on community discovery is designed, called CD-DPoS. First, we introduce the PageRank algorithm to improve the voting mechanism, achieving "one ballot, multiple votes", and we obtain the reputation value of each node. Second, we propose a node voting enthusiasm measurement method based on the GN algorithm. Finally, we design a comprehensive election mechanism combining node reputation values and voting enthusiasm to select secure and reliable accounting nodes. A node credit incentive mechanism is also designed to effectively motivate normal nodes and drive out malicious nodes. The experimental simulation results show that our proposed algorithm has better decentralization, malicious node eviction capabilities and higher throughput than similar methods.

Shaping the future of Ethereum: exploring energy consumption in Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake consensus

Ethereum (ETH) is a popular Layer-1 blockchain platform that has been used to create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Ethereum 2.0, or Serenity, is a significant update to the network that intends to address numerous issues with scalability, security, and energy efficiency. The Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method will replace the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism, which is one of the major new features of Ethereum 2.0. Given that PoS doesn’t require miners to do intensive mathematical calculations in order to validate transactions, it has the potential to be more energy-efficient than PoW. Additionally, this Ethereum upgrade will also be more secure due to the introduction of a new mechanism called “Casper” that will ensure that validators are always in agreement on the state of the blockchain. The paper begins by discussing the current issues facing Ethereum, including the limitations of the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism and the need for more efficient and scalable solutions. In this study, we peered at the major changes introduced by Ethereum 2.0, such as the new consensus method (Proof-of-Stake) and the addition of shard chains (Ethereum 2.0), as well as the associated development timelines, benefits and the community criticism on this upgrade.

Innovative Application of Blockchain Technology for Digital Recipe Copyright Protection

With the advent of the digital age, traditional lifestyle activities, such as reading books, referencing recipes, and enjoying music, have progressively transitioned from offline to online. However, numerous issues plague the conventional approach to digital copyright protection. This is especially true in the realm of recipe protection, where the rights and interests of original creators are inadequately safeguarded due to the widespread dissemination of a large number of recipes on the Internet. This primarily stems from the high costs of gathering evidence, incomplete coverage of evidence collection, and the inability to identify and halt infringement activities in a timely manner during the process of traditional digital copyright protection. Therefore, this study designs and implements a blockchain-based digital recipe copyright protection scheme to address the issues of insufficient legal evidence and cumbersome processes in traditional digital copyright protection. First, we enhance standard short text similarity calculation method SimHash, boosting the accuracy of text similarity detection. We then utilize the decentralization, immutability, time-stamping, traceability, and smart contract features of blockchain technology for data privacy protection. We employ the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) to store raw data, thereby ensuring user privacy and security. Lastly, we improve the proxy voting node selection in the existing delegated proof of stake (DPOS) consensus mechanism. According thorough evaluation and empirical analysis, the scheme effectively improves the accuracy of text similarity detection. Simultaneously, the enhanced DPOS mechanism effectively rewards nodes with excellent performance and penalizes nodes exhibiting malicious behavior. In this study, we successfully designed and implemented an innovative digital recipe copyright protection scheme. This scheme effectively enhances the accuracy of text similarity detection; ensures the privacy and security of user data; and, through an enhanced DPOS mechanism, rewards well-performing nodes while penalizing those exhibiting malicious behavior.

Applying Blockchain consensus mechanisms to Network Service Federation: Analysis and performance evaluation

Cutting edge (vertical) applications may swiftly saturate service providers’ virtualized infrastructure. In 5G and beyond, service providers seek out for innovative solutions such as Network Service Federation (NSF) which allows orchestration of external domain services/resources to provide a zero-downtime end-to-end vertical service. Distributed ledger technologies, such as Blockchain, are used to enhance the federation process. In this article, we propose and evaluate the application of Blockchain technology for NSF. We evaluate four different consensus mechanisms: Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Authority (PoA), Practical Byzantine-Fault Tolerant (PBFT), and Proof-of-Stake (PoS). The experimental evaluation is executed using Ethereum, Tendermint and Cosmos platforms. Results show that the evaluated consensus mechanisms enable the use of NSF for both latency-sensitive and security stringent vertical applications.

Climate concerns and the future of nonfungible tokens: Leveraging environmental benefits of the Ethereum Merge

The world is facing a formidable climate predicament due to elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels. The preceding decade has also witnessed a dramatic surge in blockchain-based applications, constituting yet another substantial energy consumer. Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are one such application traded on Ethereum (ETH) marketplaces that have raised concerns about their climate impacts. The transition of ETH from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS) is a step toward reducing the carbon footprint of the NFT sector. However, this alone will not address the climate impacts of the growing blockchain industry. Our analysis indicates that NFTs can cause yearly GHG emissions of up to 18% of the peak under the energy-intensive PoW algorithm. This results in a significant carbon debt of 4.56 Mt CO2-eq by the end of this decade, equivalent to CO2 emissions from a 600-MW coal-fired power plant in 1 y which would meet residential power demand in North Dakota. To mitigate the climate impact, we propose technological solutions to sustainably power the NFT sector using unutilized renewable energy sources in the United States. We find that 15% utilization of curtailed solar and wind power in Texas or 50 MW of potential hydropower from existing nonpowered dams can support the exponential growth of NFT transactions. In summary, the NFT sector has the potential to generate significant GHG emissions, and measures are necessary to mitigate its climate impact. The proposed technological solutions and policy support can help promote climate-friendly development in the blockchain industry.

A Two-Stage PBFT Architecture With Trust and Reward Incentive Mechanism

Consensus algorithm is an essential ingredient of any blockchain system. Many different consensus mechanisms such as Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Stake (PoS), and their many derivatives have been proposed over the years, but the complementary problems of performance and resilience to malicious behavior of the nodes have yet to be resolved in a satisfactory manner. In this work, we propose a consensus mechanism that integrates PoS with PBFT, which can effectively deal with dishonest nodes, both individual validators and leaders, whilst maintaining high performance. Our model incentivized truthful behavior by using trust score and reward mechanisms as crucial components of the block validation and ordering processes. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated using an analytical model that employs a semi-Markov process, defined by an ergodic multidimensional Markov chain with a finite number of states. The results show the efficiency of the proposed model in consensus-based decision making, even under a high likelihood of dishonest node behavior.

Coin concentration of Proof-of-Stake blockchains

This paper studies the concentration of block production in selected Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains and finds evidence consistent with participants entering and leaving the consensus process, thereby changing the concentration level, but not with disproportionate compounding of wealth for large stakes.

AI-Enabled Consensus Algorithm in Human-Centric Collaborative Computing for Internet of Vehicle

With the enhanced interoperability of information among vehicles, the demand for collaborative sharing among vehicles increases. Based on blockchain, the classical consensus algorithms in collaborative IoV (Internet of Vehicle), such as PoW (Proof of Work), PoS (Proof of Stake), and DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake), only consider the node features, which is hard to adapt to the immediacy and flexibility of vehicles. On the other hand, classical consensus algorithms often require mass computing, which undoubtedly increases the communication overhead, resulting in the inability to achieve collaborative IoV under asymmetric networks. Therefore, proposing a low failure rate consensus algorithm that takes into account running time and energy consumption becomes a major challenge in IoV applications. This paper proposes an AI-enabled consensus algorithm with vehicle features, combining vehicle-based metrics and neural networks. First, we introduce vehicle-based metrics such as vehicle online time, performance, and behavior. Then, we propose an integral model and a hierarchical classification method, which combine with a BP neural network to obtain the optimal solution for interconnection. Among them, we also use Informer to predict the future online duration of vehicles, which effectively solves the situation that the primary node vehicle drops off in collaborative IoV. Finally, the experimentations show that the vehicle-based metrics eliminate the problem of the primary node vehicle being offline, which realizes the collaborative IoV considering vehicle features. Meanwhile, it reduces the vehicle network system delay and energy consumption.

Characterizing Coin-Based Voting Governance in DPoS Blockchains

Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) blockchains are governed by a committee of dozens of members elected via coin-based voting mechanisms. This paper presents a large-scale empirical study of two critical characteristics, personal impact and participation rate, of three leading DPoS blockchains. Our findings reveal the existence of decisive voters whose votes can alter election outcomes, as well as the fact that almost half of the coins have never been used in committee elections. Our research contributes to demystifying the actual use of coin-based voting governance and offers novel insights into the potential security risks of DPoS blockchains.

HCSC: A Hierarchical Certificate Service Chain Based on Reputation for VANETs

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), there are many resource constrained communication nodes, distributed geographical locations, and low delay requirements. The authentication system is required to be distributed. However, the information interaction between traditional distributed authentication entities (AEs) is not transparent, and the use of blockchain is only to save certificate status records on the chain. There is a lack of trusted security management mechanisms between AEs, so there is a risk of collusion attacks and behavior record forgery and tamper attacks between AEs. Therefore, this paper mainly addresses the management problems of opaque interaction and insufficient security verification of distributed authentication entities in the VANETs scenario. In this paper, based on the security features of blockchain technology, such as public audit and tamper proof block structure, and distributed trust consensus, we propose a hierarchical and trust certificate service chain based on reputation value called HCSC. We have a set of safe and reliable management mechanisms between distributed authentication entities such as the Bitcoin system. First, we integrate the traditional hierarchical authentication system and the blockchain network into a new hierarchical certificate service chain. Then, we propose a reputation evaluation model based on the logistic regression model by quantifying the behavior records of the AEs. In addition, a new hierarchical reputation consensus based on delegated proof of stake (DPoS) and proof of work (PoW) is given. Then, a fast verification based on block height and security verification for the efficiency and security of certificate verification is proposed. Finally, the security analysis is given, and a prototype implementation of HCSC is developed based on Fabric. The experimental simulation and security analysis reveal that the HCSC is very efficient and suitable for the above issues.

Blockchain-Aided Edge Computing Market: Smart Contract and Consensus Mechanisms

Building upon the concept of edge computing (EC), a distributed EC market requires decentralized and verified transaction management to trade computing resources. Towards this goal, we study a blockchain-aided EC market wherein each data service operator (DSO) rents a group of edge computing nodes (ECNs) and leases the ECNs to the user terminals (UTs) to provide computation offloading services. First, we propose a smart contract based matching mechanism to establish the renting association between the DSOs and ECNs with the aim of maximizing the social welfare. Second, we propose a social welfare improved double auction (SWIDA) mechanism to build up the leasing association between the DSOs and UTs, and show that the proposed mechanism can achieve individual rationality, balanced budget, truthfulness in expectation, and an improved social welfare than the benchmark mechanisms. Moreover, we put forth a trustworthiness-driven Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to enable verified transaction and fair reward allocation. We formulate the block generation as a coalitional game, wherein each stakeholder votes according to its trustworthiness and coinage, and shares the reward among the coalition according to the Shapley values. The simulation results show that the proposed PoS consensus mechanism can reduce the wealth inequality among the network entities.

Application of Blockchain to Secure e-FIR

Abstract: Electronic First Information Report (e-FIR) is a document filed to the police stations by a victim or accuser when offense is committed. In traditional e-FIR databases, offense’s records can be tampered because of its centralized nature. Also intentional false e-FIR can be registered. Thus, data transparency and integrity is big concern. To overcome this problem e-FIR with decentralized blockchain system can be integrated with e-FIR portal. The main characteristics of the blockchain technology are advanced security and decentralized system. This technology uses the encrypted blocks to make FIR data secured. Proof of Stake (PoS) protocol is used in this system. Users have to submit e-FIR through portal which will be stored in blocks in blockchain. Due to advanced security feature of system, data tampering will be prevented. Integrating such FIR registration system will ensure transparency and enhance data integrity.

Trading under the proof‐of‐stake protocol – A continuous‐time control approach

AbstractWe develop a continuous‐time control approach to optimal trading in a Proof‐of‐Stake (PoS) blockchain, formulated as a consumption‐investment problem that aims to strike the optimal balance between a participant's (or agent's) utility from holding/trading stakes and utility from consumption. We present solutions via dynamic programming and the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations. When the utility functions are linear or convex, we derive close‐form solutions and show that the bang‐bang strategy is optimal (i.e., always buy or sell at full capacity). Furthermore, we bring out the explicit connection between the rate of return in trading/holding stakes and the participant's risk‐adjusted valuation of the stakes. In particular, we show when a participant is risk‐neutral or risk‐seeking, corresponding to the risk‐adjusted valuation being a martingale or a sub‐martingale, the optimal strategy must be to either buy all the time, sell all the time, or first buy then sell, and with both buying and selling executed at full capacity. We also propose a risk‐control version of the consumption‐investment problem; and for a special case, the “stake‐parity” problem, we show a mean‐reverting strategy is optimal.

Sustainable fixed wireless access with blockchain secured software defined network

Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of service providers offering Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). The main goal of service providers is to offer guaranteed service (GB/month) for all contents by meeting sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): cost-efficiency and security. To minimize the risk of physical deployment and handle partial recovery, network slicing between service providers is considered by using the same FWA as a service by joint consideration of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). This can only be handled by Software-Defined Network (SDN) controlled OpenFlow-based FWA. However, current OpenFlow switches in the market are used only as IaaS which does not meet cost-efficiency requirement alone. The software-defined OpenFlow tables can be increased by network administrator, which is not recommended because of having no authorization limitation and poses configuration risks on the device. Here, the research question is how can the service providers keep their own network sustainable by using infrastructure in a secure, cost-efficient, and conforming to the standard in a fair way? Therefore, Sustainable Fixed Wireless Access (SFWA) is newly proposed by OpenFlow-based blockchain in this paper. To handle low computational work and fair scheduling, Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and Weighted Fair Content Scheduling algorithms are proposed for the validation process of the blocks that stores dynamic configuration details of service providers. At the end of the whole procedure, the valid blockchain is stored in the Secure Policy Database in OpenFlow-based FWA switches. According to performance evaluation, eMBB and URLLC contents can be served by 40% and 53% discount on cost per user with guaranteed service in FWA. The service provider offers a more sustainable network by blockchain-based secured SFWA than the conventional centralized authority-based FWA.

Analysis of POW in Bitcoin and POS in Peercoin

The technology of blockchain, which is the underlying technology of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, has changed the world dramatically and it has fascinated researchers from all over the world. Originating from the Byzantine General Problem, the consensus mechanism is utilized to reach an agreement in a group where the channel for communication could be unreliable. Among all the consensus mechanisms in the blockchain, proof of stake (POS) and proof of work (POW) are the most widely used. POW was first used in the Bitcoin blockchain and soon became its central consensus mechanism of it and the earliest implementation of POS for cryptocurrency was Peercoin. Numerous research has been done in this field, but they failed to explain the features of the two mechanisms comprehensively. In this paper, the author did a brief introduction to the hash function and consensus mechanism as well as how POW and POS work, then made detailed analysis and comparisons of a POW in Bitcoin and POS in Peercoin in terms of fairness, security, environmental influence, penalty, negotiability and sustainability, and future trend, and declared that both of POS and POS had some advantages and drawbacks. The author also listed some risks and potential problems of POW and POS and then gave possible solutions for them.

Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake in Cryptocurrency

This research document demonstrates the understanding of two key elements: Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) within cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is often misunderstood as just volatile and risky but many investors do not understand what it even is. What is proof of work (BTC)? What is proof of stake (ETH)? How are they similar and how are they different? Cryptocurrency is actually more relatable that originally imagined once a person understands digital currency, money, it’s origins, and how they hold similar monetary value within their own wallets. Cryptocurrency in PoW involves complicated mathematical equation solving via mining from a large growing pool of miners. These miners receive rewards such as bitcoin/tokens/etc. from their mined hash blocks verified, and blocks added to the blockchain. Challenges are that there are many miners and there may be a computational limit per core of each PC to be able to mine since Bitcoin has increased its difficulty 70 billion times since it started. BTC or Bitcoin is still widely trusted due to its increasing difficulty to race to the finish line to finish the advanced math computations. Whereas within PoS this is not a race between the masses and advanced math computations, but a validator that generally has more put in their stake vs. gained by receiving the processing fees associated. ETH or Ethereum has shifted from PoW to PoS for its better energy efficiency in resources. It has employed many other additional checks from Casper to Gasper which is the combination of Casper (fork-choice algorithm), LMD-GHOST (heavest observed subtree), and finality which requires 2/3rd agreement as well as once a block is justified it is upgraded to a finalized block. the similarities between the two PoW and PoS are that they are consensus-driven algorithms. They are designed to reach an agreement between the systems in place before each block is placed in the blockchain. Additionally, they also have a shared public ledger that operates on a global if not international scale. With blockchains, there is always only one true version and this is relying on a network rather than a governing authority like a bank/government entity to provide security and to prevent fraudulent transactions. It is still widely contested which is better than these two well-known consensus algorithms and it is still widely contested. The best answer is suited on a per investor per business basis in terms of the willingness of taking a risk just like any investment. This document serves to help provide guidance in the understanding of cryptocurrency of two main consensus algorithms, its similarities, differences, and help identify see what a potential investor the reader may be.

An Event Study of the Ethereum Transition to Proof-of-Stake

On 15 September 2022, the Ethereum network adopted a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. We study the impact on the network and competing platforms in a two month event window around the Beacon chain merge. We find that the transition to PoS has reduced energy consumption by 99.98%. Miners have not transformed into validators, and total block reward income (in USD) has fallen by 97%, though transaction fees (in ETH) for Ether have increased nearly 10%. The Herfindahl index for the top 10 is 1009; the network is 19% less concentrated after the merge. Ethereum supply growth has been deflationary since the merge. The time between consecutive blocks is now steady at 12 s and transactions per day are up 7.0%. On Polygon, Matic fees rose but token fees fell. Polygon also slows, processing 3.3% fewer transactions per day. Solana’s fees fall by $0.0003, and transactions per day are down 48%. Stablecoin transfer volumes fall on Ethereum and Polygon, but rise on Solana.

SIAEF/PoE: Accountability of Earnestness for encoding subjective information in Blockchain

Blockchain technology has the potential to be applied widely in supply chain operations. One such area is proactive supply chain risk management (SCRM). In this area, existing researchers have highlighted the fraudulent behaviour of supply chain partners who do not disclose information on the risks that impact their operations. Blockchain can address this problem by encoding each partner’s commitment to SCRM and achieve consensus. However, before this can be achieved, a key challenge to address is the inability of existing consensus mechanisms such as Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Authority (PoA) and Proof of Stake (PoS) to deal with information that does not have a digital footprint. In this paper, we address this gap by proposing the Proof by Earnestness (PoE) consensus mechanism which accounts for the authenticity, legitimacy and trustworthiness of information that does not have a digital footprint. We also propose the Subjective Information Authenticity Earnestness Framework (SIAEF) as the overarching framework that assists PoE in achieving its aim. We test the applicability of SIAEF and PoE in a real-world blockchain environment by deploying it as a decentralized application (Dapp) and applying it in BscScan Testnet which is an official test blockchain network.

Secure PBFT Consensus-Based Lightweight Blockchain for Healthcare Application

Recent advancement in IoT technology has boosted the healthcare domain with enormous usage of IoT devices to provide elevated services to patients with chronic disorders on a real-time basis by the incorporation of IoT sensors on patients’ bodies. However, providing services ensuring security and maintaining the privacy of patients is a challenging task. Blockchain technology promises security in a distributed environment but popular consensus algorithms such as Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) require huge computational resources and energy by making the IoT environment inefficient. This paper introduces a secure Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) consensus-based lightweight blockchain algorithm for healthcare applications. To strengthen the PBFT consensus, highly trusted nodes were allowed to participate in the consensus algorithm using the Eigen Trust model and Verifiable Random Function (VRF) to select a random primary node from a group of trusted consensus nodes. The proposed algorithm is tested in a simulated environment and evaluated against the traditional PBFT consensus algorithm considering throughput, latency, and fault tolerance.

Sharding-Based Proof-of-Stake Blockchain Protocols: Key Components & Probabilistic Security Analysis

Blockchain technology has been gaining great interest from a variety of sectors including healthcare, supply chain, and cryptocurrencies. However, Blockchain suffers from a limited ability to scale (i.e., low throughput and high latency). Several solutions have been proposed to tackle this. In particular, sharding has proved to be one of the most promising solutions to Blockchain's scalability issue. Sharding can be divided into two major categories: (1) Sharding-based Proof-of-Work (PoW) Blockchain protocols, and (2) Sharding-based Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Blockchain protocols. The two categories achieve good performances (i.e., good throughput with a reasonable latency), but raise security issues. This article focuses on the second category. In this paper, we start by introducing the key components of sharding-based PoS Blockchain protocols. We then briefly introduce two consensus mechanisms, namely PoS and practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT), and discuss their use and limitations in the context of sharding-based Blockchain protocols. Next, we provide a probabilistic model to analyze the security of these protocols. More specifically, we compute the probability of committing a faulty block and measure the security by computing the number of years to fail. We achieve a number of years to fail of approximately 4000 in a network of 4000 nodes, 10 shards, and a shard resiliency of 33%.