SBIR Phase I: Hardware Acceleration for Verifiable Delay Functions for use in Distributed Ledger Technology

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响是设计和开发用于执行加密操作的定制处理器。本研究将开发算法并在硬件上实现，以提高算法的速度。这项研究的结果将是设计出一种可以由区块链行业制造和使用的密码加速器。这些改进将加快区块链在日常金融应用中的实用化，推动低成本的开放金融网络。这些网络可以降低金融服务的成本，并实现更好的金融包容性。这个SBIR第一阶段项目建议增加区块链共识协议的吞吐量，降低成本。通过使用专门建造的密码加速器，将有可能使许多新的密码技术实用。这些技术包括可验证延迟函数(VDF)、RSA累加器和简洁的非交互知识论点(SNARK)。特别是，该处理器将专注于提高生成VDF校样的效率。VDF和相关密码技术在提高区块链协议的可扩展性和安全性方面大有可为，但目前在标准处理器上速度太慢，无法提供预期的改进。这些技术将使区块链能够扩展到其当前交易吞吐量的数十倍甚至数百倍。此外，这些技术将同时大幅降低大多数现代区块链的计算和能源需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to design and develop a custom processor for performing cryptographic operations. This research will develop algorithms and implement them in hardware to improve their speed. The result of this research will be a design for a cryptographic accelerator that can be manufactured and used by the blockchain industry. These improvements will accelerate the practicality of blockchain for daily financial use, promoting low-cost open financial networks. These networks can reduce the cost of financial services and enable improved financial inclusion.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to increase the throughput, and reduce the cost, of blockchain consensus protocols. Through the use of a purpose-built cryptographic accelerator it will be possible to make many novel cryptographic techniques practical. These techniques include Verifiable Delay Functions (VDF), RSA Accumulators, and Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (SNARKs). In particular, this processor will focus on improving the efficiency of generating VDF proofs. VDFs and related cryptographic techniques hold great promise for improving the scalability and security of blockchain protocols, but are currently too slow on standard processors to provide the desired improvements. These techniques will enable the blockchain to be scaled to tens or even hundreds of times its current transaction throughput. Furthermore, these techniques will simultaneously reduce the computational and energy requirements of most modern blockchains dramatically.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.