A Journey from Commit Processing in Distributed Databases to Consensus in Blockchain

Abstract

Blockchain Technology (BT) is a futuristic data management technology that eliminates the intermediary/ third-party/central authority as it is operated over a peer-to-peer network running cryptographic protocols. It is tamper-proof as it utilizes a cryptographic hash feature. Some other features, it offers, are transparency, security, inalterability, immutability, and decentralization; these features of the BTs have acquired the wide attention of the computing research community. While a transaction is occurring between two parties, it ensures that the trust is a consensus-driven built-in technology component instead of relying on a third party for the same. With the help of a consensus algorithm, the newly generated block is appended at the end of the already existing chain. In this paper, a thorough analysis of the various blockchain consensus algorithms is conducted including their benefits and drawbacks. Finally, it enlists the challenges and opportunities in designing blockchain consensus algorithms. Further, it proposes an idea for designing a blockchain consensus algorithm and concludes the discussion. © 2022 IEEE.