Public-Key Cryptography behind Blockchain Security

Abstract

Blockchain (BC) technology has infiltrated many areas of our lives, from digital currencies to healthcare and beyond, thanks to its security, decentralization, and transparency properties. BC is a decentralized ledger of assets and digitally signed transactions through a peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network. Indeed, signature and consensus algorithms are behind BC’s security and performance. This paper provides a study on BC-used asymmetric cryptography. We focus on RSA, DSA, and ECDSA digital signature algorithms. We implement the algorithms using python language on a Raspberry Pi. Simulation outcomes show that the ECDSA performs better than the other algorithms and is secure despite using small keys.