EPoW: Energy-Efficient Proof-of-Work

Proof-of-Work (PoW) is a consensus mechanism widely applied in blockchain applications such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In PoW, only the first miner solving the PoW puzzle by Hash Collisions wins the reward. Thus, PoW-powered cryptocurrencies have become increasingly energy inefficient due to the fierce competition among the participants. Additionally, PoW can cause centralization in blockchain networks. To address these challenges, this research proposes an incentive mechanism named EPoW. EPoW has been proven to generally benefit the conservation of energy in Bitcoin mining by giving miners no incentive to devote a higher hash rate. Moreover, EPoW is an instrument for decentralization by discouraging the collusion among miners. Then, a dual security verification mechanism is proposed to enhance the security of blockchain networks. Finally, extensive comparative experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of EPoW in energy efficiency. The research indicates that EPoW eliminates the miner's incentive to devote a higher hash-rate than all their counterparts, thus relieving the malignant competition and conserving expensive energy. Additionally, EPoW alleviates the problem of centralization caused by mining pools.