Treffer: Effect of hash functions on speed and security within Bitcoin's proof-of-work (PoW).

Bitcoin is a distributed and decentralized network relying on a consensus mechanism to ensure the verification of transactions and network security. The PoW mechanism is integral to the process of mining Bitcoin transactions, where miners solve cryptographic puzzles using a process known as hashing. Hash functions play an important role in the PoW mechanism to ensure blockchain integrity, security, and efficiency. The speed of hash functions is one of the important factors that determine the processing time of transactions and mining of new blocks on PoW-based networks viz Bitcoin. This paper investigates the impact of various hash functions-SHA-256, Keccak-256, Blake2b, and Blake3 on mining speed in the Bitcoin network. The paper emphasizes not only the computational performance of hash functions but also assesses their security by analyzing their key security characteristics. Additionally, the energy requirements of each hash function are also analyzed. Our findings provide insights into how various hashing techniques affect the security and mining performance of blockchains, which is important information for protocol optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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