A Survey on Blockchain Technologies and Its Consensus Algorithms

Abstract

The evolution and development in blockchain technologies have attracted both research academia and industries. A typical blockchain stores data in a permanent and immutable way in form of blocks connecting, forming a chain of data. The whole system is made decentralized so that anyone connected to the network can verify the data, defining its P2P distributed nature. Blockchain has many components among which the core component is consensus protocol. This protocol is responsible for the security and performance of the blockchain. The consensus protocol introduced by Nakamoto in Bitcoin led the foundation stone for more innovative alternative consensus mechanisms. In this paper, we will conduct a systematic review of blockchain technology and its consensus algorithms and further analyze them based on some essential features and factors.