55 An Efficient Proof ofWork Consensus Algorithm using Game Theory
Technologies like Peer-to-Peer networks, cryptographic functions, and decentralization make up a blockchain which is a distributed immutable ledger used to record transactions. Blockchain-based systems lack a trusted central authority. Instead, it has a core consensus mechanism based upon which a node or a group of nodes are given authority to verify and validate the transactions. The set of nodes chosen may or may not be periodically replaced by other nodes which are based on the consensus protocol used. Nodes that participate in the consensus layer are provided with incentives to encourage the participation of other nodes. PoW(Proof-of-work) consensus mechanism is already being used in most blockchain systems. Even though the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism imparts high security, it is still highly computational-intensive which makes it a rather negative choice for employing in any blockchain. In this study, we have proposed a Proof of Work using Game Theory (PoW-GT) consensus mechanism. In this work, we’ve used the Ethereum testbed to evaluate the performance of our proposed consensus algorithm with POW in terms of transaction time, throughput and fairness.