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Cross-Consensus Measurement of Individual-level Decentralization in Blockchains

  • Chao Li
  • , Balaji Palanisamy
  • , Runhua Xu*
  • , Li Duan
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Beijing Jiaotong University
  • University of Pittsburgh

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Decentralization is widely recognized as a crucial characteristic of blockchains that enables them to resist malicious attacks such as the 51% attack and the takeover attack. Prior research has primarily examined decentralization in blockchains employing the same consensus protocol or at the level of block producers. This paper presents the first individual-level measurement study comparing the decentralization of blockchains employing different consensus protocols. To facilitate cross-consensus evaluation, we present a two-level comparison framework and a new metric. We apply the proposed methods to Ethereum and Steem, two representative blockchains for which decentralization has garnered considerable interest. Our findings dive deeper into the level of decentralization, suggest the existence of centralization risk at the individual level in Steem, and provide novel insights into the cross-consensus comparison of decentralization in blockchains.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2023 IEEE 9th International Conference on Big Data Security on Cloud, IEEE International Conference on High Performance and Smart Computing, and IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data and Security, BigDataSecurity-HPSC-IDS 2023
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages45-50
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9798350312935
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event9th IEEE International Conference on Big Data Security on Cloud, 9th IEEE International Conference on High Performance and Smart Computing and 9th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data and Security, BigDataSecurity-HPSC-IDS 2023 - New York, United States
Duration: 6 May 20238 May 2023

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2023 IEEE 9th International Conference on Big Data Security on Cloud, IEEE International Conference on High Performance and Smart Computing, and IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data and Security, BigDataSecurity-HPSC-IDS 2023

Conference

Conference9th IEEE International Conference on Big Data Security on Cloud, 9th IEEE International Conference on High Performance and Smart Computing and 9th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data and Security, BigDataSecurity-HPSC-IDS 2023
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew York
Period6/05/238/05/23

Keywords

  • Blockchain
  • DPoS
  • Decentralization
  • Measurement Study
  • PoW

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