Termination of Ethereum’s Smart Contracts (original) (raw)
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2015
A Bitcoin Is an electronic payment method that is based on cryptographic proof instead of trust [1] allowing any two users to manage their transactions without dependence on a third party organization (a financial institution). Each party can transfer Bitcoins to the other digitally by signing a previous hash along with the public key of the next owner and so on. The Bitcoin network timestamps the transactions into blocks and hashes them into a chain of a hash based proof-of-work [1] (block chain) and combining them into a block. Such a chain is known as a block chain. It is decided that the longest block chain shall serve as the proof of the sequence of transactions witnessed by the network. Also it is a proof that it came from the largest pool of computational power put in by Bitcoin Miners (people who help in generating new blocks for the proof-of-work in return for a bounty). A major issue with the Bitcoin network is the problem of attacking nodes trying to double-spend the Bitc...
Bitcoin A simple explanation of Bitcoin and Block Chain technology JANUARY 2015 RICHARD LEE TWESIGE
2015
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The Mechanics of the Blockchain Technology
Recently, blockchain technology has been actively discussed all over the world. The world's largest organizations have declared 2017 the year of blockchain. Our country is no exception. Therefore, this technology has attracted the attention of Russian specialists (not only programmers, representatives of technical professions, but also government officials, notaries, and large firms that are ready to keep up with the times). In particular, on June 16, 2017, a Memorandum of cooperation in the implementation of the latest information technologies, in particular the blockchain system, was signed in Seoul, Korea.
Swimming with Fishes and Sharks: Beneath the Surface of Queue-Based Ethereum Mining Pools
2017 IEEE 25th International Symposium on Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems (MASCOTS), 2017
Cryptocurrency mining can be said to be the modern alchemy, involving as it does the transmutation of electricity into digital gold. The goal of mining is to guess the solution to a cryptographic puzzle, the difficulty of which is determined by the network, and thence to win the block reward and transaction fees. Because the return on solo mining has a very high variance, miners band together to create so-called mining pools. These aggregate the power of several individual miners, and, by distributing the accumulated rewards according to some scheme, ensure a more predictable return for participants. In this paper we formulate a model of the dynamics of a queuebased reward distribution scheme in a popular Ethereum mining pool and develop a corresponding simulation. We show that the underlying mechanism disadvantages miners with above-average hash rates. We then consider two-miner scenarios and show how large miners may perform attacks to increase their profits at the expense of other participants of the mining pool. The outcomes of our analysis show the queue-based reward scheme is vulnerable to manipulation in its current implementation.
The Use of Formal Approach and Techniques Applied to Understand and Improve the Blockchain
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET), 2022
With data volumes expected to expand exponentially in the next years, protecting that data is critical. To ensure the reliability of the system, we use cutting-edge tools like blockchain. It wasn't until the advent of bitcoin, however, that a sizable portion of the population took notice of blockchain technology. Since its inception, blockchain technology has been used in the academic community and by businesses. What this means is that the information is being stored in a way that makes tampering and unauthorized access very difficult. Blocks, an abbreviation for "blockchain," a digital public ledger, are used to record monetary transactions. All nodes will eventually agree on the same sequence of block attachments, and this is achieved by a process termed "consensus." Learning about the inner workings of each blockchain and the rationale for its unique style of operation is possible via a thorough examination of these algorithms. In this study, I examined and contrasted the different consensus mechanisms now in use with consensus protocols, analyzing their relative relevance in blockchain development. The consensus algorithm behind any specific blockchain-based system is crucial to the reliability and safety of that system. Formal approaches may be used to both increase users' trust in blockchain-based systems and design thoroughly tested and trustworthy solutions. To achieve this level of confidence, consensus methods must be effective. Formal modeling is developing a system in a mathematical language, then thoroughly testing and inspecting it to ensure its correctness. This study examined consensus processes and the role formal approaches play in this space to help with the construction of a trustworthy blockchain-based system. To ensure the accuracy of such procedures, this article discusses the current state of applying formal methods to the blockchain consensus process.
International Journal of Engineering and Computer Science
Blockchain is defined as a group of unsegregated blocks over a P2P network. It is also considered as a decentralised ledger which holds the records of any online event. It offers a secure platform for knowledge and value transfer even in an untrustworthy network. In digital transactions on blockchain, each transaction is verified by all the nodes within the network using consensus protocol. Through this paper we will give a comprehensive overview of how Blockchain technology works, its current and future applications and how it can change the digital events in future.
The Shutdown Problem: How Does a Blockchain System End?
ArXiv, 2019
We define and examine the shutdown problem for blockchain systems: how to gracefully end the system's operation at the end of its useful life. A particular focus is those blockchain systems that hold archival data of long-lived interest. We outline what it means to achieve a successful shutdown, and compare those criteria to likely end-of-life conditions in a generic blockchain system. We conclude that the decentralized nature of blockchain systems makes shutdown difficult, particularly if the system uses an unstable consensus like the Nakamoto consensus of Bitcoin. Accordingly, we recommend against using blockchain with unstable consensus for any data whose value is likely to persist beyond the life of the blockchain system. For any such systems that are already in operation, we recommend considering a hard fork to implement stable consensus. Such consideration needs to happen well in advance of the system's end of life.
2021
The blockchain technology revolution and concomitant use of blockchains in various applications have resulted in many organizations and individuals developing and customizing their own fit-for-purpose consensus algorithms. Because security and performance are principally achieved through the chosen consensus algorithm, the reliability and security of these algorithms must be both assured and tested. This work provides a methodology to assess such algorithms for their security level and performance is required; liveness for permissioned blockchain systems is evaluated. We focus on permissioned blockchains because they retain the structure and benefits afforded by the blockchain concept while end users maintain control over their processes, procedures, and data. Thus, end users benefit from blockchain technology without compromising data security. We expect that this methodology and taxonomy can be applied to other types of blockchains. The developed methodology is used to provide a l...
PoX: Proof of Transfer Mining with Bitcoin
2020
Consensus algorithms for public blockchains require computing or financial resources to secure the blockchain state. Mining mechanisms used by these algorithms are broadly divided into proof-of-work, in which nodes dedicate computing resources, and proof-of-stake, in which nodes dedicate financial resources to participate in the consensus algorithm. The high-level idea behind both proof-of-work and proof-of-stake is to make it practically infeasible for any single malicious actor to have enough computing power or ownership stake to attack the network. A variant of proof-of-work is proof-of-burn where miners compete by ”burning” (destroying) a proof-of-work cryptocurrency as a proxy for computing resources. In this paper, we introduce a new mining mechanism, called proof-of-transfer (PoX) that generalizes the concept of proof-of-burn. PoX uses the proof-of-work cryptocurrency of an established blockchain to secure a new blockchain. However, unlike proof-of-burn rather than burning th...
Proof of Transfer Whitepaper v1.0 PoX: Proof of Transfer Mining with Bitcoin
Consensus algorithms for public blockchains require computing or financial resources to secure the blockchain state. Mining mechanisms used by these algorithms are broadly divided into proof-of-work, in which nodes dedicate computing resources, and proof-of-stake, in which nodes dedicate financial resources to participate in the consensus algorithm. The high-level idea behind both proof-of-work and proof-of-stake is to make it practically infeasible for any single malicious actor to have enough computing power or ownership stake to attack the network. A variant of proof-of-work is proof-of-burn where miners compete by "burning" (destroying) a proof-of-work cryptocurrency as a proxy for computing resources. In this paper, we introduce a new mining mechanism, called proof-of-transfer (PoX) that generalizes the concept of proof-of-burn. PoX uses the proof-of-work cryptocurrency of an established blockchain to secure a new blockchain. However, unlike proof-of-burn rather than burning the cryptocurrency, miners transfer the committed cryptocurrency to some other participant(s) in the network. This allows network participants who are adding value to the new cryptocurrency network to earn a reward in a base cryptocurrency by actively participating in the consensus algorithm. PoX encourages a model where there is one extremely secure proof-of-work blockchain, say Bitcoin. Other new blockchains can be anchored on the secure proof-of-work blockchain instead of introducing new proof-of-work chains. PoX has the interesting property where participants can earn payouts in a separate, potentially more stable, base cryptocurrency while participating in the new blockchain network. This can help solve a bootstrapping problem for new blockchains by providing incentives for early participants. Further, PoX has a potential use case for funding ecosystem developer funds. We present a proposal for using PoX in the Stacks 2.0 blockchain.