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A. Hartl, T. Zseby, J. Fabini:
"BeaconBlocks: Augmenting Proof-of-Stake with On-Chain Time Synchronization";
Talk: The 2nd IEEE International Conference on Blockchain (Blockchain-2019), Atlanta, USA; 07-14-2019 - 07-17-2019; in: "Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain", IEEE, (2019), ISBN: 978-1-7281-4693-5; 353 - 360.

Blockchain protocols based on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithms aim to provide an alternative to the energy-consuming Proof-of-Work mining procedure. Following a PoS algorithm, nodes have to agree on the miner next eligible to contribute a block and on the point in time he is allowed to broadcast it. The latter requirement raises to the need for synchronous clocks.
In this paper we describe BeaconBlocks, a new scheme for constructing PoS protocols. A major difference to former work is incorporating time synchronization as an essential element of the protocol itself, gaining independence of the nodes´ clocks and allowing the protocol to resist attacks on clock synchronization infrastructure. To this end, we describe both a mechanism for obtaining the correct time during node startup and for retaining synchronicity of estimated time during a node´s lifetime.
In contrast to prior work, our approach for miner selection exhibits an interleaved unslotted structure. We show that fairness is achieved when miners follow our scheme and we provide a discussion of attack possibilities, allowing developers to choose secure parameters when adopting the scheme.

blockchain, time synchronization, proof-of-stake

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/Blockchain.2019.00055