Propagation Delay in Bitcoin Networks: Issues and Countermeasures

Abstract

Bitcoin (B) synchronizes a public ledger over a large decentralized blockchain network as underlying infrastructure. Propagation delay among long chains of network nodes is a major threat to message dissemination and integrity of digital currency transactions. In this paper, a comprehensive survey presents state-of-the-art analytical studies on the bitcoin network. The survey describes the problems caused by the delay of dissemination and discusses the solutions proposed to enhance the propagation delay in the current literature. First, an overview of propagation algorithms is discussed by focusing on the bitcoin network. Then, the factors that have impacts on the delay and their issues are introduced. Improvement of the delay and some countermeasures are presented next. Finally, our conclusion and future research recommendations are also discussed.