The distributed ledger technology (DLT) landscape comprises a wide range of independent networks with little to none built-in interoperability. To be applied in traditional enterprises, these DLT systems must also interact with legacy systems with no support for the processes of a DLT. An important topic in DLT research is, therefore, to establish standardised protocols for cross-network transfer and exchange of data and assets. Ideally, these protocols should be general-purpose so that they can be applied on top of many different types of ledger systems. One such protocol, supporting asset transfer, is the Secure Asset Transfer Protocol (SATP or 'SAT protocol') in development by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The SATP Core protocol draft by Hargreaves et al. (2024) describes an interoperability protocol that can facilitate asset transfer between two DLT systems, as well as between a DLT system and a non-DLT system. In either case, the SAT protocol imposes no restrictions on the underlying system implementations. Building on this work, in this paper, we present an adaptation of SATP that facilitates cross-network asset exchanges. This asset exchange protocol, named the Secure Asset Exchange Protocol, inherits the key advantages of SATP but enables asset exchanges instead of asset transfers.
Random numbers play a vital role in many decentralized applications (dApps), such as gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Existing random number provision mechanisms can be roughly divided into two categories, on-chain, and off-chain. On-chain approaches usually rely on the blockchain as the major input and all computations are done by blockchain nodes. The major risk for this type of method is that the input itself is susceptible to the adversary's influence. Off-chain approaches, as the name suggested, complete the generation without the involvement of blockchain nodes and share the result directly with a dApp. These mechanisms usually have a strong security assumption and high complexity. To mitigate these limitations and provide a framework that allows a dApp to balance different factors involved in random number generation, we propose a hybrid random number generation solution that leverages IoT devices equipped with trusted execution environment (TEE) as the randomness sources, and then utilizes a set of cryptographic tools to aggregate the multiple sources and obtain the final random number that can be consumed by the dApp. The new approach only needs one honest random source to guarantee the unbiasedness of the final random number and a user can configure the system to tolerate malicious participants who can refuse to respond to avoid unfavored results. We also provide a concrete construction that can further reduce the on-chain computation complexity to lower the cost of the solution in practice. We evaluate the computation and gas costs to demonstrate the effectiveness of the improvement.
Open access
2 source records
Peer-to-Peer Network Technologies
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
By offering fresh approaches to solve long-standing issues like too much centralisation, not involving everyone, and not giving consumers enough autonomy, Web3 technologies are rapidly altering the way typical banking systems operate. One of the most fascinating fresh developments in the field is the growing Web3 membership. These empower consumers over their financial transactions by use of distributed platforms and blockchain technology. Unlike conventional membership models, Web3 payments let users to handle their own data, create explicit arrangements, and get services free from intermediaries. This article examines how Web3 subscriptions can transform the financial climate and open everyone's access. Subscription-based services let users freely access enhanced privacy, security, and control over their personal financial data. Web3 contracts remove obstacles to access so that those without bank accounts may utilize financial services, hence fostering financial inclusion. By shifting authority from centralized financial institutions to individuals, the decentralised framework of these models also allows consumers greater autonomy and independence. This paper investigates the advantages and drawbacks of Web3 accounts including legal concerns, user behavior problems, and growth capability. Following extensive research, we find methods to enhance Web3 membership systems so that they remain scalable, secure, and open for a broad spectrum of users. Finally, this research reveals how Web3 payments could alter the dynamics of financial models, therefore promoting a more open and user-centric attitude to financial services.
Open access
2 source records
FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance
Peer-to-Peer Network Technologies
Library Collection Development and Digital Resources
The increasingly interconnected nature of modern network architectures demands advanced security and trust mechanisms, particularly in environments spanning multiple technology and stakeholder domains. Traditional approaches to network management systems, while effective in static settings, often lack the flexibility, security, and transparency required for dynamic and decentralized operations typical of multi-domain configurations. Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) offer a robust alternative by enabling decentralized management and immutable recording of network configurations, inherently increasing security against tampering and unauthorized changes. This paper introduces a DLT approach utilizing a private, permissioned ledger where topology changes are recorded as transactions. The setup enforces data integrity and restricts access to network topology information, ensuring only authorized stakeholders can make changes. Consequently, it enhances security, maintains data consistency, and builds trust among network components by keeping a verifiable record of all changes. Additionally, the paper examines the performance and operational efficiency of integrating DLT within network systems, using the ADRENALINE testbedâan advanced infrastructure for Beyond 5G and future 6G servicesâas the platform for analysis. Experimental results reveal the systemâs performance metrics, illustrating the practical viability of implementing DLT in network operations management.
Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) promise decentralization, transparency, and security, yet the reality often falls short due to fundamental governance flaws. Poorly designed governance frameworks leave these systems vulnerable to coercion, vote-buying, centralization of power, and malicious protocol exploits-threats that undermine the very principles of fairness and equity these technologies seek to uphold. This article surveys the state of DLT governance, identifies critical vulnerabilities, and highlights the absence of universally accepted best practices for good governance. By bridging insights from cryptography, social choice theory, and e-voting systems, we not only present a comprehensive taxonomy of governance properties essential for safeguarding DLTs but also point to technical solutions that can deliver these properties in practice. This work underscores the urgent need for robust, transparent, and enforceable governance mechanisms. Ensuring good governance is not merely a technical necessity but a societal imperative to protect the public interest, maintain trust, and realize the transformative potential of DLTs for social good.
Many blockchain networks aim to preserve the anonymity of validators in the peer-to-peer (P2P) network, ensuring that no adversary can link a validator's identifier to the IP address of a peer due to associated privacy and security concerns. This work demonstrates that the Ethereum P2P network does not offer this anonymity. We present a methodology that enables any node in the network to identify validators hosted on connected peers and empirically verify the feasibility of our proposed method. Using data collected from four nodes over three days, we locate more than 15% of Ethereum validators in the P2P network. The insights gained from our deanonymization technique provide valuable information on the distribution of validators across peers, their geographic locations, and hosting organizations. We further discuss the implications and risks associated with the lack of anonymity in the P2P network and propose methods to help validators protect their privacy. The Ethereum Foundation has awarded us a bug bounty, acknowledging the impact of our results.
Laura Ricci, Barbara Guidi, Andrea Michienzi, Andrea Tagarelli · 5 authors
Web3 describes the next generation of the Internet, built on top of various technologies, such as Blockchain Technology, Semantic Web, etc. Web3 proposal claims a vision of the Internet that can cut the intermediation of Big tech companies by completely decentralizing the web through blockchain technology, which enables the integration of cryptocurrencies and tokens in many social media platforms, currently referred to as Blockchain Online Social Media (BOSMs) platforms. These give the possibility both to reward users for their social actions and to define Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), digital assets representing real-world objects like art, collectibles, music, game items, videos, and even tickets creating a new form of decentralized finance, called Social Finance (SocialFi). BOSMs give users the possibility to monetize and tokenize their social influence, and they act as the common ground for the sale or transfer of NFTs. In this paper, we propose an overview of AWESOME, a framework for advanced analysis of Web3 BOSMs, specifically conceived to suit their nature based on intertwined and stratified social and economic contexts. We highlight the characteristics of the framework by describing the objectives and we present the preliminary results. Furthermore, the paper proposes a classification of current Web3 BOSMs, which improves the literature by taking into account the changes and the new applications of Web3 Social Media, which now include Virtual Worlds and Gaming platforms.
Bitcoin is a payment system that generates a decentralized digital currency without ensuring temporal constraints in its transactions; therefore, it is vulnerable to double-spending attacks. Karame has proposed a formalization for a successful double-spending attack based on meeting three requirements. This focuses on fast payment scenarios where the product is delivered immediately after the payment is announced in the mempool, without waiting for transaction confirmation. This scenario is key in Bitcoin to increase the probability of a successful double-spending attack. Different approaches have been proposed to mitigate these attacks by addressing one or more of Karameâs three requirements. These include the following: flooding every transaction without restrictions, introducing listeners/observers, avoiding isolation by blocking incoming connections, penalizing malicious users by revealing their identity, and using machine learning and bio-inspired techniques. However, to our knowledge, no proposal deterministically avoids double-spending attacks in fast payment scenarios. In this paper, we introduce DiFastBit: a distributed transaction differentiation scheme that shields Bitcoin from double-spending attacks in fast payment scenarios. To achieve this, we modeled Bitcoin from a distributed perspective of events and processes, reformulated Karameâs requirements based on Lamportâs happened-before relation (HBR), and introduced a new theorem that consolidates the reformulated requirements and establishes the necessary conditions for a successful attack on fast Bitcoin payments. Finally, we introduce the specifications for DiFastBit, formally prove its correctness, and analyze DiFastBitâs confirmation time.
Juseong Jeon, Sejin Park, Deokwoo Lee, Juncheol Ahn
The blockchain market has been experiencing rapid growth recently. Alongside this, Web3 services based on blockchain technology are expanding and gaining attention. These services can support not only encompass gaming and financial services but also leverage the numerous nodes existing in the network to distribute tasks, thereby supporting parallel computing. However, there is no way to directly access web3 services in the current network topology, which limits the expansion of services. Therefore, the current Web3 relies on centralized web servers as access points for services, resulting in the inevitable loss of benefits associated with decentralization, such as the shift in data sovereignty.
The Web3 gaming and blockchain gaming landscapes have emerged as dynamic and transformative forces within the entertainment industry. A comprehensive analysis encompassing qualitative and quantitative approaches is essential to grasp these emerging sectorsâ potential and trajectory fully. The study delves into the intricacies of Web3 gaming and blockchain gaming, exploring their current market size, growth drivers, prevailing challenges, and anticipated future trends. A thorough analysis of industry reports provided insights into current trends, challenges, and promising startups within the gaming space. As per our results, the Web3 gaming and blockchain gaming markets are experiencing and expecting significant growth, especially in future outlooks. The integration of Web3 into blockchain gaming is expected to accelerate, further enhancing player ownership, control, and monetization opportunities. The capital attraction of Web3 and blockchain gaming is highly correlated with the overall cryptocurrency market, suggesting that investor interest in these projects tends to rise and fall with cryptocurrency prices.
Abstract Modern public blockchains like Ethereum rely on p2p networks to run distributed and censorship-resistant applications. With its wide adoption, it operates as a highly critical public ledger. On its transition to become more scalable and sustainable, shifting to PoS without sacrificing the security and resilience of PoW, Ethereum offers a range of consensus client implementations to participate in the network. In this paper, we present a methodology to measure the performance of the consensus clients based on the latency to receive messages from the p2p network. The paper includes a study that identifies the incentives and limitations that the network experiences, presenting insights about the latency impact derived from running the different consensus implementations at different locations. Our study highlights the need for a holistic approach to node deployment, where hardware, software, and geographic factors have to be carefully considered. Properly dimensioned hardware is essential to mitigate latency-related performance issues and ensure the reliable operation of beacon nodes, especially in geographically distant locations.
The Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm has been criticized, in the literature and in several cryptocurrencies communities, due to the so-called compounding effect: who is richer has more coins to stake, therefore higher probability of being selected as a block validator and obtaining the corresponding rewards, thus becoming even richer. In this paper, we present a PoS simulator written in the Julia language that allows one to test several variants of PoS-based consensus algorithms, tweaking their parameters, and observe how the distribution of cryptocurrency coins among the users evolves over time. Such a tool can be used to investigate which combinations of parameters values allow to obtain a âfairâ and stable consensus algorithm, in which, over the long term, no one gets richer or poorer by the mere act of validating blocks. Based on this investigation, we also introduce a new PoS-based consensus mechanism that allows the system to keep the wealth distribution stable even after a large number of epochs.
The Ethereum Global Network (EGN) hosts a complete ecosystem of decentralized services, including blockchains such as Ethereum mainnet but also exchange markets, content delivery networks, and many more. Service discovery is a fundamental mechanism in the EGN, allowing new nodes to look up and connect to other nodes already participating in one of these services. The current service discovery of the EGN, DISCv5, is not scalable and efficient enough to support the current and future needs of the ecosystem. We present DISC-NG, a novel service discovery protocol for the EGN that is scalable, efficient, and secure. DISC-NG leverages the EGN-wide DHT to allow service participation advertisements to meet service discovery requests. DISC-NG compensates the unbalance in service popularity and minimizes the potential for abuse by malicious nodes. We implement DISC-NG in devp2p, the network stack used by the majority of clients connecting to the EGN, as well as in a large-scale simulator. DISC-NG can discover services in the EGN faster than DISCv5 while being more robust to malicious nodes. DISC-NG is now in a staging phase and scheduled for deployment as an improvement to DISCv5.
The rise of prosumers â individuals who both produce and consume energy â presents a significant opportunity to reshape energy markets and achieve carbon neutrality. However, current energy trading models struggle to effectively track emissions and incentivize sustainable consumption behaviors. This study introduces a novel, blockchain-based peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for trading carbon allowances, designed to empower prosumers and revolutionize energy consumption patterns. Utilizing blockchain technology, the platform enables direct, transparent, and secure transactions between prosumers, creating a decentralized market where they can set their own prices for carbon allowances. This dynamic and competitive environment empowers prosumers to take control of their energy consumption and incentivizes the adoption of sustainable practices. The platform also incorporates a decentralized reward system targeting specific consumption habits, promoting behaviors that reduce carbon emissions. Empirical evidence and theoretical justification within the study highlight the platformâs potential to transform energy consumption patterns. The transparent and verifiable nature of blockchain technology addresses the limitations of existing centralized and aggregator-based trading methods. The proposed platform provides a robust framework for tracking carbon emissions, promoting sustainable consumption, and empowering prosumers to actively participate in the energy transition. This innovative solution addresses the challenges faced by prosumers in the energy market, paving the way for a more sustainable and equitable future.
Giovanni Quattrocchi, Filippo Scaramuzza, Damian A. Tamburri
Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively the first and the second generations of blockchains, exhibit two main problems, mostly connected to the increase of network traffic and load onto their respective networking and service models: scalability and interoperability. To solve these issues, several technologies have been introducedâthus paving the way to the so-called third-generation blockchainsâwhich are divided into three main categories: (1) Layer 1 solutions, (2) rollups, and (3) side-chains. We present a validated framework for the evaluation and comparison of these categories, based on the three main non-functional aspectsâreflecting therefore a trilemmaâthat discriminate their use for the design and orchestration of complex blockchain-oriented service applications, namely: scalability, decentralization, and security.
Jun 17, 2024·Proceedings of the 2024 Workshop on Advanced Tools, Programming Languages, and PLatforms for Implementing and Evaluating algorithms for Distributed systems
Reaching consensus despite faulty or corrupted nodes is a central question in distributed computing; it has received renewed attention over the last years because of its importance for cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Modern consensus protocols in this space have relied on a number of different methods for the nodes to influence protocol decisions. Such assumptions include (1) traditional voting, where each node has one vote, (2) weighted voting, where voting power is proportional to stake in an underlying asset, and (3) proof-of-X, which demonstrates a cryptographically verifiable investment of a resource X, such as storage space, time waited, or computational work.
This conceptual modelling research investigates infrastructure designs supporting decentralized social media leveraging blockchain verified identities and non-fungible token (NFT) facilitated content transactions.Diagrammatic analysis following the object-oriented methodology depicts economic and software mechanisms allowing participant monetization of original posts through cryptocurrency micropayments and resale royalties.Systematic ownership protections aim to foster trust and transparency deactivated in conventional models exploiting uncompensated user data.While limitations persist in underlying platform maturity, regulatory uncertainty, and mass adoption prerequisites, envisioned participatory architectures offer renewed pathways to reconcile open exchange with personal agency and value.
Eduardo Jorge Lira Antunes da Silva, Cristina Souza de AraĂșjo, Jucimar Maia da Silva, Roberto Junio Rodrigues Gomes · 7 authors
The development of software aligned with Web3 innovations is essential to stimulate discussions on the application of these technologies in the scientific realm. This study presents the development of a 'cryptogame,' a game that integrates blockchain technology to incorporate Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) into its functionalities. The paper explores fundamental Web3 concepts, with references to relevant literature, and details the development process, including the methodologies and models adopted. As a result, a puzzle game was created that utilizes NFTs as playable characters, allowing for the transfer of these assets between digital wallets. Furthermore, the study investigates the application of these concepts in adapting a traditional mobile game for the use of NFTs, demonstrating the necessary changes in user interface and game mechanics to support the integration with digital assets.
Distributed ledger technology such as blockchain is considered essential for supporting large numbers of micro-transactions in the Machine Economy, which is envisioned to involve billions of connected heterogeneous and decentralized cyber-physical systems. This stresses the need for performance and scalability of distributed ledger technologies. Addressing this, sharding techniques that divide the blockchain network into multiple committees are a common approach to improve scalability. However, with current sharding approaches, costly cross-shard verification is needed to prevent double-spending. This article proposes a novel and more scalable distributed ledger method named ScaleGraph that implements dynamic sharding by using routing and logical proximity concepts from distributed hash tables. ScaleGraph addresses cybersecurity in terms of integrity and availability to support frequent micro-transactions between autonomous devices. Benefits of ScaleGraph include a total storage space complexity of \(O(t)\) , where \( t \) is the global number of transactions (assuming a constant replication degree). This space is sharded over \( N \) nodes so that each node needs \(O(t/N)\) storage in expectation, which provides a high level of concurrency and data localization as compared to other delegated consensus proposals. ScaleGraph allows for a dynamic grouping of validators that are selected based on a distance metric. We analyze the consensus requirements in such a dynamic setting and show that a synchronous consensus protocol allows shards to be smaller than an asynchronous one, and likely yields better performance. Moreover, we provide an experimental analysis of security aspects regarding the required size of the consensus groups with ScaleGraph. Our analysis shows that dynamic sharding based on proximity concepts brings attractive scalability properties in general, especially when the fraction of corrupt nodes is small.
The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) has recently gained considerable attention. While prior research has focused on understanding its performance characterization and application support, it remains unclear: (1) what kind of files/content are stored in IPFS, (2) who are providing these files, (3) are these files always accessible, and (4) what affects the file access performance. To answer these questions, in this paper, we perform measurement and analysis on over 4 million files associated with CIDs (content IDs) that appeared in publicly available IPFS datasets. Our results reveal the following key findings: (1) Mixed file accessibility: while IPFS is not designed for a permanent storage, accessing a non-trivial portion of files, such as those of NFTs and video streams, often requires multiple retrieval attempts, potentially blocking NFT transactions and negatively affecting the user experience. (2) Dominance of NFT (non-fungible token) and video files: about 50% of stored files are NFT-related, followed by a large portion of video files, among which about half are pirated movies and adult content. (3) Centralization of content providers: a small number of peers (top-50), mostly cloud nodes hosted by tech companies, serve a large portion (95%) of files, deviating from IPFS's intended design goal. (4) High variation of downloading throughput and lookup time: large file retrievals experience lower average throughput due to more overhead for resolving file chunk CIDs, and looking up files hosted by non-cloud nodes takes longer. We hope that our findings can offer valuable insights for (1) IPFS application developers to take into consideration these characteristics when building applications on top of IPFS, and (2) IPFS system developers to improve IPFS and similar systems to be developed for Web3.
Peiyao Sheng, Chenyuan Wu, Dahlia Malkhi, Michael K. Reiter · 7 authors
This paper introduces and develops the concept of ``ticketing'', through which atomic broadcasts are orchestrated by nodes in a distributed system. The paper studies different ticketing regimes that allow parallelism, yet prevent slow nodes from hampering overall progress. It introduces a hybrid scheme which combines managed and unmanaged ticketing regimes, striking a balance between adaptivity and resilience. The performance evaluation demonstrates how managed and unmanaged ticketing regimes benefit throughput in systems with heterogeneous resources both in static and dynamic scenarios, with the managed ticketing regime performing better among the two as it adapts better. Finally, it demonstrates how using the hybrid ticketing regime performance can enjoy both the adaptivity of the managed regime and the liveness guarantees of the unmanaged regime.
Ethereum 2.0 is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and a widely used smart contract platform. Therefore, examining the reliability of Ethereum 2.0's incentive mechanism is crucial, particularly its effectiveness in encouraging validators to adhere to the Ethereum 2.0's protocol. This paper studies the incentive mechanism of Ethereum 2.0 and evaluates its robustness by analyzing the interaction between block proposers and attesters in a single slot. To this end, we use Bayesian games to model the strategies of block proposers and attesters and calculate their expected utilities. Our results demonstrate that the Ethereum 2.0 incentive mechanism is incentive-compatible and promotes cooperation among validators. We prove that a Bayesian Nash equilibrium and an ex ante dominant strategy exist between the block proposer and attesters in a single slot. Our research provides a solid foundation for further analysis of Ethereum 2.0's incentive mechanism and insights for individuals considering participation as a validator in Ethereum 2.0.
With the large increase in the adoption of blockchain technologies, their underlying peer-to-peer networks must also scale with the demand. In this context, previous works highlighted the importance of ensuring efficient and resilient communication for the underlying consensus and replication mechanisms. However, they were mainly focused on mainstream, Proof-of-Work-based Distributed Ledger Technologies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. In this paper, the problem is investigated in the context of consensus-validation based blockchains, like the XRP Ledger. The latter relies on a Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) consensus mechanism which is proven to have a good scalability in regards to transaction throughput. However, it is known that significant increases in the size of the XRP Ledger network would be challenging to achieve. The main reason is the flooding mechanism used to disseminate the messages related to the consensus protocol, which creates many duplicates in the network. Squelching is a recent solution proposed for limiting this duplication, however, it was never evaluated quantitatively in real-life scenarios involving the XRPL production network. In this paper, our aim is to assess this mechanism using a real-life controllable testbed and the XRPL production network, to assess its benefit and compare it to alternative solutions relying on Named Data Networking and on a gossip-based approach.
The greatest advantage that Web3 applications offer over Web 2.0 is the evolution of the data access layer. Opaque, centralized services that compelled trust from users are replaced by trustless, decentralized systems of smart contracts. However, the public nature of blockchain-based databases, on which smart contracts transact, has typically presented a challenge for applications that depend on data privacy or that rely on participants having incomplete information. This has changed with the introduction of confidential smart contract networks that encrypt the memory state of active contracts as well as their databases stored on-chain. With confidentiality, contracts can more readily implement novel interaction mechanisms that were previously infeasible. Meanwhile, in both Web 2.0 and Web3 applications the user interface continues to play a crucial role in translating user intent into actionable requests. In many cases, developers have shifted intelligence and autonomy into the client-side, leveraging Web technologies for compute, graphics, and networking. Web3's reliance on such frontends has revealed a pain point though, namely that decentralized applications are not accessible to end users without a persistent host serving the application. Here we introduce the Non-Fungible Program (NFP) model for developing self-contained frontend applications that are distributed via blockchain, powered by Web technology, and backed by private databases persisted in encrypted smart contracts. Access to frontend code, as well as backend services, is controlled and guaranteed by smart contracts according to the NFT ownership model, eliminating the need for a separate host. By extension, NFP applications bring interactivity to token owners and enable new functionalities, such as authorization mechanisms for oracles, supplementary Web services, and overlay networks in a secure manner. In addition...