Simulating Blockchain Consensus Protocols in Julia: Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake

Document Type

Book Chapter

Source of Publication

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

Publication Date

6-10-2022

Abstract

Consensus protocols constitute an important part in virtually any blockchain stack as they safeguard transaction validity and uniqueness. This task is achieved in a distributed manner by delegating it to certain nodes which, depending on the protocol, may further utilize the computational resources of other nodes. As a tangible incentive for nodes to verify transactions many protocols contain special reward mechanisms. They are typically inducement prizes aiming at increasing node engagement towards blockchain stability. This work presents the fundamentals of a probabilistic blockchain simulation tool for studying large transaction volumes over time. Two consensus protocols, the proof of work and the delegate proof of stake, are compared on the basis of the reward distribution and the probability bound of the reward exceeding its expected value. Also, the reward probability as a function of the network distance from the node initiating the transaction is studied.

ISSN

1868-4238

Publisher

Springer International Publishing

Volume

652

First Page

357

Last Page

369

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Keywords

Blockchain simulation, Consensus protocols, Proof of work, Proof of state, Stakeholder delegate, Behavioral economics

Scopus ID

85133222287

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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