Blockchain in Dynamic Networks

Abstract: We consider blockchain in dynamic networks. We define the Blockchain Decision Problem. It requires miners that maintain the blockchain to confirm whether a particular block is accepted. We establish the necessary conditions for the existence of a solution. We, however, prove that the solution, even under these necessary conditions is, in general, impossible. We then present two algorithms that solve the Blockchain Decision Problem under either the knowledge of the maximum source pool propagation time or the knowledge of the source pool membership. We evaluate the performance of the two algorithms.