Collaborative Research: CNS Core: Small: Cooperation and Competition in Payment Channel Networks: Routing, Pricing, and Network Formation

合作研究： CNS 核心：小型：支付渠道网络中的合作与竞争：路由、定价和网络形成

基本信息

批准号：
2008935
负责人：
Dejun Yang
金额：
$ 25.2万
依托单位：
Colorado School of Mines
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-10-01 至 2024-09-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2008935&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research CNS Core Small

项目摘要

The scalability of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum hinders their wide adoption. This is due to the massive resource consumption required by their underlying consensus mechanisms for guaranteeing the unique and synchronized global state. To address this scalability issue, Payment Channel Networks (PCNs) have been proposed to enable instant and inexpensive payments without requiring expensive and slow blockchain transactions. However, the concept of PCN is still at its nascent stage, and its fundamental understanding is still lacking. The goal of this project is to conduct a comprehensive study of PCNs from optimization, game theoretic, and economic perspectives, by providing an advanced suite of algorithms, theories, and mechanisms for routing, pricing, and network formation in PCNs. This collaborative project with investigators from Colorado School of Mines and Arizona State University is expected to lay the algorithmic, theoretical, and economic foundation in PCNs by studying routing, pricing, and network formation problems from optimization, game theoretic, and economic perspectives. By weaving together techniques from optimization, game theory, and microeconomics, this project will yield several advances: 1) Insightful understanding about PCNs; 2) Realistic models of PCNs considering both balance constraints and expiry constraints; 3) Advanced algorithms for routing a payment in PCNs subject to path-dependent constraints; 4) Rigorous analytical models of balance allocation when multiple payment paths compete for the available balance; 5) Scientific theories about the impact of the participants' strategic behavior on the routing in PCNs and the formation of PCNs; 6) New economic approaches that provide guidelines on how to influence the participants in PCNs to make off-chain payments successful at the minimum cost.This project is expected to have significant impacts in many sectors: 1) Research community: giving rise to new frontiers in PCN research area and break new ground in the understanding PCNs; 2) Economy: expediting the adoption of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and thus increase the economic competitiveness of the US; 3) Environment: reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint caused by blockchain technology by encouraging more off-chain transactions; 4) Education: integrating this research into education through curriculum development, student development, K-12 outreach activities, and dissemination of research results; and 5) Society: raising awareness and interests in the blockchain and PCNs through disseminating the research results, partnerships with local companies, community meetups, and public talks.The outcome of this project, including source codes and dataset, will be maintained at the project website (https://people.mines.edu/djyang/research/project-pcn/) for at least five years, and will be made available to the public.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

基于区块链的加密货币（例如比特币和以太坊）的可扩展性阻碍了它们的广泛采用。这是由于其基本共识机制所需的大量资源消耗以保证独特而同步的全球状态。为了解决此可伸缩性问题，已经提出了支付渠道网络（PCN）来实现即时且廉价的付款，而无需昂贵且缓慢的区块链交易。但是，PCN的概念仍处于其新生阶段，并且仍然缺乏其基本理解。该项目的目的是通过在PCN中提供一系列先进的算法，理论和机制，从优化，游戏理论和经济观点对PCN进行全面研究。这项与科罗拉多州矿业学院和亚利桑那州立大学的调查人员的合作项目有望通过研究路线，定价和网络形成问题，从优化，游戏理论和经济角度研究算法，理论和经济基础。通过从优化，游戏理论和微观经济学中编织技术，该项目将产生几个进步：1）对PCN的有见地的理解； 2）PCN的现实模型考虑平衡约束和到期约束； 3）用于路由在PCN中付款的高级算法受到路径依赖性约束； 4）当多个支付路径竞争可用余额时，平衡分配的严格分析模型； 5）关于参与者的战略行为对PCN和PCN形成的路线的影响的科学理论； 6）新的经济方法提供了有关如何影响PCN参与者以使链付款成功以最低成本成功的指导方针。预计该项目将对许多领域产生重大影响：1）研究社区：PCN研究领域的新领域并在理解PCN中引起新的领域； 2）经济：加快采用基于区块链的加密货币，从而提高美国的经济竞争力； 3）环境：通过鼓励更多的链交易来减少由区块链技术引起的能耗和碳足迹； 4）教育：通过课程发展，学生发展，K-12外展活动以及研究结果的传播将这项研究纳入教育； and 5) Society: raising awareness and interests in the blockchain and PCNs through disseminating the research results, partnerships with local companies, community meetups, and public talks.The outcome of this project, including source codes and dataset, will be maintained at the project website (https://people.mines.edu/djyang/research/project-pcn/) for at least five years, and will be made available向公众致意。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来评估值得支持的。