Скачать или смотреть HCPP23 | Pavel Hubacek - Verifiable delay functions and cryptographic foundations of blockchain

Proof of work is essential to consensus in Bitcoin, yet it is a source of inequality among miners as it stratifies them based on the available mining hardware. Aiming at leveling the field, cryptographers recently designed new primitives such as proof of sequential work or verifiable delay functions, which one could leverage towards more energy-efficient consensus protocols or completely novel applications such as distributed randomness beacons. In my talk, I will survey the recent progress and highlight some exciting future directions.

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Paralelní Polis is a one-­of-­a-­kind nonprofit organization that brings together art, social sciences, and modern technologies. The ideas of liberty, independence, innovative thinking, and the development of society are the main underlying foundations upon which the whole project is built.

The project intends to remain state-free as it operates entirely without support from the government, and most of the funds come from voluntary contributions of our donors and partly from commercial activities such as running a unique co­working space and the world’s first bitcoin-­only cafe.

It was founded by members of a contemporary-­art group Ztohoven, and Slovak and Czech hacker­spaces. Its main goal is to promote economic, social, and digital freedom. We try to be a vocal voice of freedom to shape the public discourse and ultimately work towards a freer future.