Research on the Consensus Mechanisms of Blockchain Technology

Abstract

As the underlying technology in Bitcoin, the blockchain technology has gained wide attention. Blockchain is a kind of feasible method to solve the consistency problem of distributed system. Consensus mechanism is the core of the blockchain technology. Delicate consensus mechanism can improve system performance and promote the application of blockchain in many fields. Based on the consensus mechanisms in existing design of blockchain, this paper summarizes the basic consensus mechanisms including proof of work, proof of stake and Byzantine consistency agreement, and evaluates them from various aspects such as security, scalability, performance, etc. The future research on the blockchain consensus mechanism will be based on the different characteristics of the consensus mechanisms, and design should be carried out around the combination of different consensus mechanisms.