Dependability Analysis of Bitcoin subject to Eclipse Attacks

Abstract

The immense potential of the blockchain technology in diverse and critical applications (e.g., financial services, cryptocurrencies, supply chains, smart contracts, and automotive industry) has led to a new challenge: the dependability modeling and analysis of the blockchain-based systems. In this paper, we model the Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency system built on the blockchain technology that allows individuals to trade freely without involving banks or other intermediate agents. We analyze the dependability of the Bitcoin system subject to the Eclipse attack. A continuous-time Markov chain-based method is suggested to model the system behavior under the Eclipse attack and further quantify the dependability of the Bitcoin system. The effects of several model parameters (related to the miner’s habits in system protection, restart, and mining frequency) on the system dependability are demonstrated through numerical examples. Findings from this work may provide effective guidelines in designing a resilient and robust Bitcoin system.