Blockchain Proof of Retrievability Incentive Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Blockchain systems face challenges in maintaining sufficient copies of the entire blockchain data, leading to security and sustainability issues due to lack of incentives for nodes to store the full blockchain, with existing solutions like SmartLight and EWoK not effectively addressing the problem of decreasing full node participation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a publicly verifiable proof of retrievability (PoR) system that rewards nodes for providing and validating PoR transactions, which are incorporated into new blocks, incentivizing them to store the full blockchain by extending the blockheader with authentication tags and deriving individual PoR challenges based on the latest block and account of each full node.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If nodes store the full blockchain locally, then security and reliability are improved, but storage requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blockchain network is segmented into full nodes that store complete copies and lightweight clients that do not. Full nodes generate and share proofs of retrievability with lightweight clients, allowing the latter to verify blockchain integrity without storing the entire chain locally.
Solution Approach 2:
Proofs of retrievability serve as an intermediary mechanism between full nodes and lightweight clients. These cryptographic proofs enable lightweight clients to verify that full nodes possess complete blockchain data without requiring the lightweight clients to store or process the entire blockchain themselves.
2Weight of stationary object
If fewer nodes store the full blockchain, then storage requirements per node decrease, but the number of trusted data storage copies decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where full nodes are incentivized to maintain complete blockchain copies through the generation and sharing of proofs of retrievability. Lightweight clients verify these proofs and can reward or penalize full nodes based on their commitment to maintaining complete copies, creating a self-regulating system that encourages data redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the verification parameter from direct blockchain storage verification to cryptographic proof verification. Instead of requiring lightweight clients to verify blockchain integrity by storing and checking the entire chain, the system uses PoR cryptographic parameters that can be verified with minimal storage requirements while maintaining security guarantees.
3Ease of operation
If nodes become lightweight clients, then ease of operation increases, but contribution to blockchain infrastructure decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Proofs of retrievability act as an intermediary that enables lightweight clients to contribute to blockchain sustainability without requiring full storage. By generating, sharing, and verifying PoRs, lightweight clients actively participate in maintaining network security and data integrity despite their reduced storage footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables lightweight clients to self-verify blockchain integrity through cryptographic proofs without requiring them to maintain full copies. Full nodes self-service by generating and sharing PoRs to prove their data integrity, creating a mutually beneficial arrangement that maintains security while reducing operational barriers to participation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for securing a blockchain and incentivizing the storage of blockchain data using a publicly verifiable proof of retrievability (PoR) includes receiving a PoR transaction having a PoR proof, determining whether the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof, and based upon determining that the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof, incorporating, by a block creator node, the PoR transaction into a new block of the blockchain.