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How Blockchain solves the Byzantine Generals Problem?

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Tushar Verma
How Blockchain solves the Byzantine Generals Problem?

The Byzantine Generals Problem is one of the primary game theories used in the development of a blockchain. It serves as the foundation for Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) and algorithms built around it. Although Satoshi Nakamoto did not use BFT in his implementation of Bitcoin, the concept of the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism is based on it. Let’s examine what it is and how blockchain manages to solve this problem.

What is Byzantine Generals Problem?

The Byzantine Generals Problem was formulated in 1982 by Marshall Pease, Robert Shostak, and Leslie Lamport. It is a game theory problem that describes how difficult it is for decentralized parties to come to a consensus when there is no trusted central party. 

In this problem, the Byzantine army is divided into numerous battalions, each of which is commanded by a different general. The generals need to reach an agreement (consensus) on whether to carry out the attack or not. 

However, generals face several problems while reaching a consensus. The armies are separated by a distance because they are not directly adjacent to one another. Coordination is required for the attack plan to be carried out. They have to use messengers to communicate to decide on a common course of action in which all battalions work together and launch simultaneous attacks from all directions in order to be successful. 

Additionally, there is no assurance that the message will arrive at its intended location, and the messengers cannot be trusted either. Traitors will likely attempt to foil their plan by intercepting or altering the messages. This challenge's goal is for all of the loyal commanders to come to an agreement without any interference from the imposters.

Why do we need distributed systems for payments? 

Although the form of money has changed over time, from metal to paper to digital, its significance has remained the same throughout human history. Currently, a recognized centralized party is in charge of maintaining our monetary system. The central party chosen by the people is responsible for ensuring that the value of money is the same throughout society. However, it was later discovered that those central parties, no matter how qualified they were, were not completely trustworthy because it was so easy for them to manipulate the data.

The fundamental problem with centralized systems is that they are vulnerable to corruption, which means that the data can be manipulated by anyone who has access to the database because the centralized system concentrates all power in the hands of a single central decision-maker....Read More

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Tushar Verma
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