Proof-of-Stake Longest Chain Protocols: Security vs Predictability

Vivek Bagaria, Amir Dembo, Sreeram Kannan, Sewoong Oh, David Tse, Pramod Viswanath, Xuechao Wang, Ofer Zeitouni

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Nakamoto longest chain protocol is remarkably simple and has been proven to provide security against any adversary with less than 50% of the total hashing power. Proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols are an energy efficient alternative; however existing protocols adopting Nakamoto's longest chain design achieve provable security only by allowing long-term predictability, subjecting the system to serious bribery attacks. In this paper, we prove that a natural longest chain PoS protocol with similar predictability as Nakamoto's PoW protocol can achieve security against any adversary with less than 1/(1+e) fraction of the total stake. Moreover we propose a new family of longest chain PoS protocols with a formal proof of their security against a 50% adversary, while only requiring short-term predictability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationConsensusDay 2022 - Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Workshop on Developments in Consensus, co-located with CCS 2022
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages29-42
Number of pages14
ISBN (Electronic)9781450398794
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 7 2022
Event2022 ACM Workshop on Developments in Consensus, ConsensusDay 2022 - Co-located with CCS 2022 - Los Angeles, United States
Duration: Nov 7 2022 → …

Publication series

NameConsensusDay 2022 - Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Workshop on Developments in Consensus, co-located with CCS 2022

Conference

Conference2022 ACM Workshop on Developments in Consensus, ConsensusDay 2022 - Co-located with CCS 2022
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLos Angeles
Period11/7/22 → …

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Control and Systems Engineering

Keywords

  • blockchain protocols
  • proof-of-stake
  • security analysis

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