CNS Core: Small: One Size doesn't Fit All: Workload-Aware Cost Optimization for Decentralized Applications on Blockchains

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Decentralized applications (or DApps), such as cryptocurrencies and other blockchain applications, offer benefits over conventional centralized applications by not assuming trust in a central provider, which may be compromised. As a result, DApps have the potential to disrupt a wide range of businesses, notably decentralized finance. However, today's DApps yield a high monetary cost to end-users due to their intensive use of expensive blockchains underneath. This project aims to optimize DApps' costs by orders of magnitude, without sacrificing security or introducing additional delays. The PI proposes to study the previously unexplored design space for workload-aware cost optimization over blockchains. The PI will design and evaluate a wide range of new cost-saving techniques, such as bundling requests in transactions, dynamically reorganizing data storage, introducing workload-adaptive control mechanisms, and others. A key project outcome will be the development of a cost-optimizing middleware system that is effective under real DApp workloads, and that can be easily retrofitted onto operational blockchains (e.g., Ethereum). Software tools for transaction record-and-replay will also be built and released to enable workload analysis on blockchains.This project will improve the understanding of DApps' costs under dynamic workloads and impact the research communities in distributed systems, middleware, blockchains, and cyber-security. In addition, it will impact various blockchain and DApp developer communities. It will facilitate the adoption of DApps and help to decentralize many industries, including the web, information technology (IT), and finance technology. Finally, the PI will leverage existing venues, such as MoST (Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse) and LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) for effective outreach to K-12, underrepresented students, and general audiences.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.