Paper 2018/939 Original: eprint.iacr.org/2018/939 ↗
The Proof is in the Pudding: Proofs of Work for Solving Discrete Logarithms
Abstract
We propose a proof of work protocol that computes the discrete logarithm of an element in a cyclic group. Individual provers generating proofs of work perform a distributed version of the Pollard rho algorithm. Such a protocol could capture the computational power expended to construct proof-of-work-based blockchains for a more useful purpose, as well as incentivize advances in hardware, software, or algorithms for an important cryptographic problem. We describe our proposed construction and elaborate on challenges and potential trade-offs that arise in designing a practical proof of work.
Metadata
- Available format(s)
PDF- Category
- Applications
- Publication info
- Preprint.
- History
- 2019-01-10: last updated
- 2018-10-05: published
- Short URL
- https://ia.cr/2018/939
- License
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX
@misc{cryptoeprint:2018/939,
author = {Marcella Hastings and Nadia Heninger and Eric Wustrow},
title = {The Proof is in the Pudding: Proofs of Work for Solving Discrete Logarithms},
howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2018/939},
year = {2018},
url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2018/939}
}