Blockchain Soft Proposer Control for Validator Congestion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional blockchain technologies face challenges in managing concurrent block proposals, leading to increased load on validators and latency due to the lack of effective congestion control mechanisms, particularly in decentralized networks using consensus protocols like Avalanche.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a soft proposer mechanism that progressively expands the set of block proposers over time, combined with a wrapper blockchain that includes execution and verification rules, to manage block addition and reduce conflicting proposals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If all validators are allowed to propose blocks simultaneously, then decentralization and validator participation are improved, but network congestion and conflicting proposals increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevalidator participationVSAvoidnetwork congestion

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the set of active proposers based on temporal parameters. Initially, only a sampled subset of validators can propose blocks, but this set expands over time according to a temporal function, allowing the system to adapt between high control (low congestion) and high participation (high decentralization) based on network conditions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-determines which validators will be able to propose blocks at future time points using a temporal parameter function. This preliminary assignment of proposer rights based on validator indices and temporal functions prevents congestion by ensuring that at any given moment, only pre-selected validators are active, while still providing a predictable path to full participation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If the number of block proposers is increased to improve decentralization, then validator participation is improved, but the load on validators and consensus complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedecentralizationVSAvoidconsensus complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The proposer set size is dynamic rather than static. It starts small to maintain simple consensus and gradually expands as the temporal parameter increases, allowing the system to progress from simple to complex states without sudden jumps in complexity that would overwhelm the network

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses temporal parameters (time-based functions) to control the expansion of the proposer set. By changing the temporal parameter over time, the system automatically adjusts the number of active proposers, transitioning from a small subset to the full validator set in a controlled manner

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Object-affected harmful factors

If a strict single proposer rule is enforced to reduce congestion, then conflicting proposals are reduced, but validator utilization and throughput decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconflicting proposalsVSAvoidblockchain throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-assigns proposer rights to multiple validators in advance using deterministic functions of their indices and temporal parameters. This preliminary assignment allows multiple validators to be prepared and ready to propose, increasing potential throughput while the temporal constraints ensure they don't all propose simultaneously, preventing conflicts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Ease of operation

If block proposal time windows are extended to improve validator flexibility, then ease of operation is improved, but latency and uncertainty in block commitment increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevalidator flexibilityVSAvoidcommitment latency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-calculates and announces to all validators exactly when they will be able to propose blocks next, based on their indices and the current temporal parameter. This preliminary information allows validators to prepare in advance without uncertainty, improving ease of operation while the precise timing information helps maintain predictable latency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12530678B2Congestion control protocol

Publication Date: 2026.01.20 AVA LABS INC

AI summary

Various aspects of the subject technology relate to systems, methods, and machine-readable media for proposing blocks to be added to a blockchain. Various aspects may include performing adding block headers to a first blockchain, wherein the block headers reference a set of validators. Aspects may also include adding a temporal parameter to each block header. Aspects may also include determining, based on a block signature from a block header and from the set of validators, a proposer of candidate blocks for addition to the blockchain. Aspects may also include sampling, based on a temporal parameter, a subset of validators of the set of validators. Aspects may include increasing the proposer to a plurality of proposers from the subset of validators by an incremental quantity based on a comparison of the temporal parameter to a threshold.