# A Knowledge-Based Analysis of the Blockchain Protocol

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.08751 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.08751/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 27 Jul 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [A Simplicial Model for KB4n: Epistemic Logic with Agents that May Die](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.10293/) (2021)
- [Simplicial Models for the Epistemic Logic of Faulty Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01351/) (2023)
- [A formal model for ledger management systems based on contracts and temporal logic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.15212/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

At the heart of the Bitcoin is a blockchain protocol, a protocol for achieving consensus on a public ledger that records bitcoin transactions. To the extent that a blockchain protocol is used for applications such as contract signing and making certain transactions (such as house sales) public, we need to understand what guarantees the protocol gives us in terms of agents' knowledge. Here, we provide a complete characterization of agent's knowledge when running a blockchain protocol using a variant of common knowledge that takes into account the fact that agents can enter and leave the system, it is not known which agents are in fact following the protocol (some agents may want to deviate if they can gain by doing so), and the fact that the guarantees provided by blockchain protocols are probabilistic. We then consider some scenarios involving contracts and show that this level of knowledge suffices for some scenarios, but not others.