Rigorous lower bounds for VDF evaluation

Establish rigorous theoretical lower bounds on the computational efficiency of evaluating Verifiable Delay Functions, so that verifiable-delay mechanisms can rely on concrete theoretical guarantees rather than practical security estimates.

Background

The paper’s MEV-defense mechanisms rely on Verifiable Delay Functions (VDFs) to impose a sequential computation delay that prevents an attacker from generating a transaction reacting to an observed opportunity before the honest transaction is finalized. The security analysis therefore depends on the assumption that VDF evaluations cannot be performed substantially faster than their prescribed sequential delay.

The authors state that existing VDFs lack rigorous theoretical lower bounds for efficient evaluation. Consequently, the delay guarantees used by the proposed mechanisms are supported primarily by practical estimates based on the fastest known implementations. Establishing such lower bounds would provide concrete theoretical foundations for the security of VDF-based MEV prevention.