Analyzing the Real-World Security of the Algorand Blockchain

Fabrice Benhamouda; Erica Blum; Jonathan Katz; Derek Leung; Julian Loss; Tal Rabin

Paper 2023/1344

Analyzing the Real-World Security of the Algorand Blockchain

Fabrice Benhamouda

, Algorand Foundation

Erica Blum

, Reed College

Jonathan Katz

, University of Maryland, College Park

Derek Leung

, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Julian Loss

, Helmholtz Center for Information Security

Tal Rabin

, University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Algorand consensus protocol is interesting both in theory and in practice. On the theoretical side, to achieve adaptive security, it introduces the novel idea of player replaceability, where each step of the protocol is executed by a different randomly selected committee whose members remain secret until they send their first and only message. The protocol provides consistency under arbitrary network conditions and liveness under intermittent network partitions. On the practical side, the protocol is used to secure the Algorand cryptocurrency, whose total value is approximately $850M at the time of writing. The Algorand protocol in use differs substantially from the protocols described in the published literature on Algorand. Despite its significance, it lacks a formal analysis. In this work, we describe and analyze the Algorand consensus protocol as deployed today in Algorand’s ecosystem. We show that the overall protocol framework is sound by characterizing network conditions and parameter settings under which the protocol can be proven secure.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Applications
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: State Machine Replication Asynchrony Blockchain
Contact author(s): fabrice benhamouda @ gmail com
ericablum @ reed edu
jkatz2 @ gmail com
dtl @ csail mit edu
loss @ cispa de
talr @ seas upenn edu
History: 2023-11-23: revised; 2023-09-08: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2023/1344
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2023/1344,
      author = {Fabrice Benhamouda and Erica Blum and Jonathan Katz and Derek Leung and Julian Loss and Tal Rabin},
      title = {Analyzing the Real-World Security of the Algorand Blockchain},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2023/1344},
      year = {2023},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1344}
}