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Information Theory of Blockchain Systems

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Combinatorial Optimization and Applications (COCOA 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14462))

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Abstract

In this paper, we apply the information theory to provide an approximate expression of the steady-state probability distribution for blockchain systems. We achieve this goal by maximizing an entropy function subject to specific constraints. These constraints are based on some prior information, including the average numbers of transactions in the block and the transaction pool, respectively. Furthermore, we use some numerical experiments to analyze how the key factors in this approximate expression depend on the crucial parameters of the blockchain system. As a result, this approximate expression has important theoretical significance in promoting practical applications of blockchain technology. At the same time, not only do the method and results given in this paper provide a new line in the study of blockchain queueing systems, but they also provide the theoretical basis and technical support for how to apply the information theory to the investigation of blockchain queueing networks and stochastic models more broadly.

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 71932002 and the Social Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under grant No. 23GLB018.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Quan-Lin Li, Yaqian Ma & Yan-Xia Chang

  2. Business School, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou, 221018, China

    Jing-Yu Ma

Authors
  1. Quan-Lin Li
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  2. Yaqian Ma
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  3. Jing-Yu Ma
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  4. Yan-Xia Chang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jing-Yu Ma .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Weili Wu

  2. Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China

    Jianxiong Guo

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Li, QL., Ma, Y., Ma, JY., Chang, YX. (2024). Information Theory of Blockchain Systems. In: Wu, W., Guo, J. (eds) Combinatorial Optimization and Applications. COCOA 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14462. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49614-1_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49614-1_33

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49613-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49614-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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