Seele's New Anti-ASIC Consensus Algorithm with Emphasis on Matrix Computation
This addresses the issue of centralization in cryptocurrency mining for blockchain developers, though it is incremental as it builds on existing PoW frameworks.
The paper tackles the problem of ASIC dominance in proof-of-work consensus by proposing MPoW, a new algorithm that replaces brute-force hashing with matrix determinant computations, and finds it improves resistance to specialized hardware while maintaining feasibility for personal computers.
In this paper, we will present a new PoW consensus algorithm used in Seele's main-net, MPoW (Matrix-Proof-of-Work). Compared to Bitcoin's PoW consensus algorithm, MPoW requires miners to compute the determinants of submatrices from a matrix constructed with n hashes other than brute-force-hashing using a hash function to find the target. This paper will evaluate this algorithm's compatibility with difficulty adjustment. Then we will discuss its efficiency in countering machines with hashrate advantage, and its feasibility to personal computers. We believe more innovative consensus protocols can be developed based on this algorithm.