Method and system for publicly verifiable proofs of retrievability in blockchains

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising processor executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the following operations for securing a blockchain using a publicly verifiable proof of retrievability (PoR):

• receiving a PoR transaction comprising a PoR proof;
• determining whether the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof;
• and
• based upon determining that the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof, incorporating, by a block creator node, the PoR transaction into a new block of the blockchain,
• wherein the verified PoR proof is verified using a PoR verification operation, which comprises:
• generating a hash based on a last block header and a PoR account identifier, the PoR account identifier being associated with a PoR node that generated the PoR transaction;
• generating a challenge vector by executing a pseudo-random number generator using the hash as its seed;
• retrieving challenged block data according to the challenge vector;
• sorting the challenged block data into groups according to block creator accounts;
• and
• for each of the groups, verifying PoR based on an associated PoR proof and an associated public key of a corresponding one of the block creator accounts.

A node of a blockchain network comprising a processor and a memory, the memory comprising processor executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the following operations for securing a blockchain using a publicly verifiable proof of retrievability (PoR):

• receiving a PoR transaction comprising a PoR proof;
• determining whether the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof;
• and
• based upon determining that the PoR proof is a verified PoR proof, incorporating the PoR transaction into a new block of the blockchain,
• wherein the verified PoR proof is verified using a PoR verification method, which comprises:
• generating a hash based on a last block header and a PoR account identifier, the PoR account identifier being associated with a PoR node that generated the PoR transaction;
• generating a challenge vector by executing a pseudo-random number generator using the hash as its seed;
• retrieving PoR authentication tags of the challenged block headers according to the challenge vector;
• sorting PoR authentication tags of the challenged block headers into groups according to block creator accounts;
• and
• for each of the groups, verifying PoR based on an associated PoR proof and an associated public key of a corresponding one of the block creator accounts.