Yale professor introduces LiDO model: a new breakthrough in consensus protocol security validation

Yale Professor Shares New Model for Consensus Protocol Security at the Web3 Scholars Summit

Recently, the 2025 Web3 Scholars Summit was held as scheduled. At the conference, Professor Shao Zhong from Yale University's Department of Computer Science delivered a keynote speech titled "Refined Consensus Protocol Security and Liveness Proof: LiDO and its Extensions," introducing to the public for the first time the LiDO model and the LiDO-DAG extension framework developed by his team. This innovative achievement aims to provide mechanically verifiable security and liveness proofs for complex Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocols, laying the technical foundation for the reliability and scalability development of the Web3 ecosystem.

Professor Shao Zhong pointed out in his speech that despite the widespread application of existing consensus protocols (such as PBFT and Jolteon), they often conceal potential vulnerabilities due to implementation complexity. To address this issue, the LiDO model proposes an innovative three-layer refined verification framework:

  1. Security abstraction layer: Mapping the protocol to a linearized state machine to ensure log consistency (security);
  2. Active Assurance Layer: Introduce the "Pacemaker" mechanism to solve network delay issues through timeout broadcasting and round synchronization;
  3. DAG Extension Layer: Supports emerging DAG protocols such as Narwhal and Bullshark, achieving efficient verification of leaderless Consensus.

Currently, LiDO has been successfully applied to the industrial-grade protocol Jolteon (two-phase BFT) as well as several DAG protocols, completing over 10,000 lines of Coq code mechanized proofs, with the code volume for safety and liveness verification reaching 4,000 lines and 1,700 lines respectively. Professor Shao Zhong emphasized in his speech: "Currently, PoS Consensus protocols generally face the dilemma of being unable to achieve safety, liveness, and decentralization simultaneously. The LiDO model is precisely a systematic design solution proposed to break this dilemma."

It is worth mentioning that the team led by Professor Shao Zhong previously developed CertiKOS, which is the world's first "bug-free" operating system verified through formal verification, hailed as a "milestone in cyber-physical system security." This achievement not only demonstrates its profound accumulation in the field of system security but also lays the foundation for subsequent research in blockchain security. In 2017, Professor Shao Zhong and his disciple Professor Gu Ronghui jointly introduced formal verification technology into the security assurance field of smart contracts and on-chain protocols, providing security protection for hundreds of billions of dollars worth of crypto assets.

The LiDO model has now completed its design and formal verification, and has begun to explore the integration possibilities with mainstream public chains and decentralized protocols. Professor Shao Zhong stated that they are committed to validating the key mechanisms in Web3.0 to provide full-cycle products and services, better supporting the long-term development strategies of Web3 enterprises and ecosystems. At the end of the speech, Professor Shao Zhong emphasized: "A trustworthy, secure, and verifiable network protocol stack will be the key path to a truly decentralized future."

CertiK co-founder Professor Shao Zhong attended the Web3 Scholars Summit, publicly unveiling the LiDO model for the first time

DAG-2.29%
View Original
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
  • Reward
  • 4
  • Share
Comment
0/400
CryptoNomicsvip
· 16h ago
*sigh* another model claiming to solve BFT when the real issue lies in stochastic game theory equilibria... lemme run some numbers real quick
Reply0
AirdropHunterKingvip
· 16h ago
What is this high-end thing again? Don't hurry up and tell me how to grab the Airdrop?
View OriginalReply0
NFTragedyvip
· 16h ago
A new framework is out again... is there no end to this?
View OriginalReply0
liquidation_watchervip
· 16h ago
It's easy to say, but now PBFT is doomed.
View OriginalReply0
Trade Crypto Anywhere Anytime
qrCode
Scan to download Gate app
Community
English
  • 简体中文
  • English
  • Tiếng Việt
  • 繁體中文
  • Español
  • Русский
  • Français (Afrique)
  • Português (Portugal)
  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • 日本語
  • بالعربية
  • Українська
  • Português (Brasil)