Such an algorithm, with almost zero energy consumption, was proposed by scientists from the Polytechnic school of Lausanne (Switzerland), while the algorithm should ensure the security of cryptocurrency transactions with bitcoin.
It is known that bitcoin mining requires complex calculations, and special equipment consumes a significant amount of electricity. The electricity consumption of the bitcoin network is close to the consumption of the whole country, such as Austria, it also leads to the emission of carbon dioxide comparable to the amount produced in Denmark.
According to Professor Rashid Guerraoui, the bitcoin ecosystem is constructed in such a way that participants do not have to trust each other, Guerraoui and colleagues chose the opposite approach. The algorithm, called Byzantine Reliable Broadcast, is based on participants’ trust and communication. The system initially assumes that all participants act fairly.
Guerraoui explains, that the transaction is approved by randomly selected participants and it is about the exchange of information. If fraudulent behavior is detected by a member, the others simply ignore it.
Thus, according to scientists, the cost of energy to confirm a transaction in Byzantine Reliable Broadcast is comparable to the exchange of emails.
“Just a few grams of CO2 compared to 300kg for a single bitcoin transaction,” says Guerraoui. Scientists plan to discover the source code of Byzantine Reliable Broadcast by the end of 2020.
