We design and formally analyze consensus protocols for Ethereum, with a focus on fast finality and provable security guarantees.
The Protocol Consensus research team is dedicated to closing the gap between the guarantees offered by Ethereum's consensus protocol today and those needed to fully support the network's long-term values and objectives.
To move toward this goal, we focus on activities such as protocol design, theoretical analysis, specification writing, academia engagement and collaboration with the broader ecosystem to ensure that ideas can be translated into practice.
Confirming blocks with high confidence in 13 seconds, before finalization.
Significantly reducing Ethereum's finalization time without compromising Ethereum's values
Reduce slot time & improve the security of the available chain
Improve the security of the Ethereum protocol
The block production chain that never stops.
Can we identify theoretical lower bounds for the block time of dynamically available (sleepy) protocols that provide reorg resilience and fast confirmation?
Can a precise formal description of the ePBS (EIP-7732) protocol be extracted from the spec, and does it satisfy its intended security properties?
The protocol that finalizes the chain.
How can we safely reconfigure consensus protocol parameters (validator sets, thresholds, timing) without disrupting safety or liveness?
Coupling the available and finality protocols into one system.
How can Simplex-style protocols attribute liveness failures and resume finalizing?
How do network-layer assumptions and constraints affect consensus protocol design, and how can protocols be made more robust to network conditions?
Gossip layer, validator privacy, and network-dependent consensus guarantees.
How do network-layer assumptions and constraints affect consensus protocol design, and how can protocols be made more robust to network conditions?
Research questions that span the whole protocol rather than a single component.
How can we rigorously benchmark and test consensus protocol implementations, including the interactions between their components, at scale?
We welcome collaboration from researchers, engineers, and anyone interested in consensus protocol design for Ethereum — whether you'd like to work on one of our open problems, propose a new one, or discuss something else entirely.
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