Useful Computation on the Block Chain

Abstract

The recent growth of blockchain technology and its usage has increased the size of cryptocurrency networks. However, this increase has come at the cost of high energy consumption due to the processing power needed to maintain large cryptocurrency networks. In the largest networks, this processing power is attributed to wasted computations centered around solving a Proof of Work algorithm. There have been several attempts to address this problem and it is an area of continuing improvement. We will present a summary of proposed solutions as well as an in-depth look at a promising alternative algorithm known as Proof of Useful Work. This solution will redirect wasted computation towards useful work. We will show that this is a viable alternative to Proof of Work.