Formal Verification of Justification and Finalization in Beacon Chain

Abstract

In recent years, Beacon Chain known as the core of Ethereum 2.0, has gained considerable attention since its launch. Many validators have staked billions of Ether in the Proof of Stake (PoS) network. It is a mission critical system and its security and stability rely on the justification and finalization of checkpoints. These are essential elements of the Casper FFG consensus algorithm utilized by the Beacon Chain. This process is critical for establishing a trustworthy foundation and finalizing proposed blocks by confirming agreed upon checkpoints. Hence, ensuring the correctness of checkpoints in the Beacon Chain has significant importance because any bug in it can cause serious implications. To address this challenge, we employ formal methods, a popular mathematical approach used for verifying the correctness of such critical systems. In this work, we have done formal verification of the processes of Beacon Chain state initialization, justification and finalization of checkpoints using the Process Analysis Toolkit (PAT) model checker. The adoption of model checking through the PAT model checker presents a novel contribution of our work, as this approach is not previously utilized in the formal verification of Beacon Chain. The presented work is specified through the Communicating Sequential Programs, formal specification language, and the properties are described through Linear Temporal Logic. The PAT model checker takes the specified formal model and properties as input to assess whether the properties are satisfied. The properties are analyzed with respect to the verification time, visited states, total transitions, and memory used. Through this research, we aim to increase confidence in the correctness and reliability of the Beacon Chain.INDEX TERMS Ethereum 2.0, Beacon Chain, Justification and finalization, Model checking, PAT