arXiv (Cornell University)
Linear Consistency for Proof-of-Stake Blockchains
November 2019 • Erica Blum, Aggelos Kiayias, Cristopher Moore, Saad Quader, Alexander Russell
The blockchain data structure maintained via the longest-chain rule---popularized by Bitcoin---is a powerful algorithmic tool for consensus algorithms. Such algorithms achieve consistency for blocks in the chain as a function of their depth from the end of the chain. While the analysis of Bitcoin guarantees consistency with error $2^{-k}$ for blocks of depth $O(k)$, the state-of-the-art of proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains suffers from a quadratic dependence on $k$: these protocols, exemplified by Ouroboros (Crypto…