A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

Jingjing Zhang; Yinxia Ran; Xiuju Huang; Cong Zuo; Junke Duan; Yun Pan; Licheng Wang; Jingtao Wang

doi:10.3390/e28010033

A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

Jingjing Zhang
, Yinxia Ran
, Xiuju Huang
, Cong Zuo
, Junke Duan
, Yun Pan^*
, Licheng Wang^*
, Jingtao Wang

^*此作品的通讯作者

Communication University of China
Longnan Normal University
Beijing Institute of Technology
Ltd.

科研成果: 期刊稿件 › 文章 › 同行评审

摘要

Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.

源语言	英语
文章编号	33
期刊	Entropy
卷	28
期	1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3390/e28010033
出版状态	已出版 - 1月 2026
已对外发布	是

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abstract = "Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.",

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AU - Pan, Yun

AU - Wang, Licheng

AU - Wang, Jingtao

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AB - Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.

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A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

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