A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining

Dennis Eijkel; Ansgar Fehnker

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26

A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining

Dennis Eijkel, Ansgar Fehnker^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Bitcoin, still the most widely used cryptocurrency maintains a distributed ledger for transactions known as the blockchain. Miners should expect a reward proportional to the computational power they provide to the network. Eyal and Sirer introduced seflish mining, a strategy gives a significant edge in profits. This paper models the behaviour of honest and selfish mining pools in Uppaal. Unlike earlier models in literature, it does not assume a single view of the blockchain but does include the presence of network delay.

Results for our model show the effects of selfish mining on the share of profits, but more importantly the outwards observable effect on the number of orphaned blocks. This paper compares the analysis results to known results from literature and real-world data.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops
Subtitle of host publication	Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I
Editors	Emil Sekerinski, Nelma Moreira, José N. Oliveira
Place of Publication	Cham, Switzerland
Publisher	Springer, Springer Nature
Pages	350-361
Number of pages	12
ISBN (Electronic)	9783030549947
ISBN (Print)	9783030549930
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26
Publication status	Published - 2020
Externally published	Yes
Event	Third World Congress on Formal Methods: Formal Methods Symposium - Porto, Portugal Duration: 7 Oct 2019 → 11 Oct 2019 Conference number: 23 http://formalmethods2019.inesctec.pt/

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Publisher	Springer
Volume	12232
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	Third World Congress on Formal Methods
Country/Territory	Portugal
City	Porto
Period	7/10/19 → 11/10/19
Internet address	http://formalmethods2019.inesctec.pt/

Keywords

Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining
Selfish mining
Uppaal

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26

Cite this

Eijkel, D., & Fehnker, A. (2020). A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining. In E. Sekerinski, N. Moreira, & J. N. Oliveira (Eds.), Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops: Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I (pp. 350-361). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 12232). Springer, Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26

Eijkel, Dennis ; Fehnker, Ansgar. / A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining. Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops: Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I. editor / Emil Sekerinski ; Nelma Moreira ; José N. Oliveira. Cham, Switzerland : Springer, Springer Nature, 2020. pp. 350-361 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).

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abstract = "Bitcoin, still the most widely used cryptocurrency maintains a distributed ledger for transactions known as the blockchain. Miners should expect a reward proportional to the computational power they provide to the network. Eyal and Sirer introduced seflish mining, a strategy gives a significant edge in profits. This paper models the behaviour of honest and selfish mining pools in Uppaal. Unlike earlier models in literature, it does not assume a single view of the blockchain but does include the presence of network delay.Results for our model show the effects of selfish mining on the share of profits, but more importantly the outwards observable effect on the number of orphaned blocks. This paper compares the analysis results to known results from literature and real-world data.",

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Eijkel, D & Fehnker, A 2020, A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining. in E Sekerinski, N Moreira & JN Oliveira (eds), Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops: Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 12232, Springer, Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 350-361, Third World Congress on Formal Methods, Porto, Portugal, 7/10/19. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26

A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining. / Eijkel, Dennis; Fehnker, Ansgar.
Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops: Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I. ed. / Emil Sekerinski; Nelma Moreira; José N. Oliveira. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Springer Nature, 2020. p. 350-361 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 12232).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

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AU - Eijkel, Dennis

AU - Fehnker, Ansgar

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PY - 2020

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N2 - Bitcoin, still the most widely used cryptocurrency maintains a distributed ledger for transactions known as the blockchain. Miners should expect a reward proportional to the computational power they provide to the network. Eyal and Sirer introduced seflish mining, a strategy gives a significant edge in profits. This paper models the behaviour of honest and selfish mining pools in Uppaal. Unlike earlier models in literature, it does not assume a single view of the blockchain but does include the presence of network delay.Results for our model show the effects of selfish mining on the share of profits, but more importantly the outwards observable effect on the number of orphaned blocks. This paper compares the analysis results to known results from literature and real-world data.

AB - Bitcoin, still the most widely used cryptocurrency maintains a distributed ledger for transactions known as the blockchain. Miners should expect a reward proportional to the computational power they provide to the network. Eyal and Sirer introduced seflish mining, a strategy gives a significant edge in profits. This paper models the behaviour of honest and selfish mining pools in Uppaal. Unlike earlier models in literature, it does not assume a single view of the blockchain but does include the presence of network delay.Results for our model show the effects of selfish mining on the share of profits, but more importantly the outwards observable effect on the number of orphaned blocks. This paper compares the analysis results to known results from literature and real-world data.

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Eijkel D, Fehnker A. A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining. In Sekerinski E, Moreira N, Oliveira JN, editors, Formal Methods - FM 2019 International Workshops: Porto, Portugal, October 7–11, 2019 Revised Selected Papers, Part I. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Springer Nature. 2020. p. 350-361. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-54994-7_26

A distributed blockchain model of selfish mining

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