Making blockchains more efficient: Calculate a useful task as part of the consensus mechanism

A combined team of researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University has found a possible way to make blockchain processing more efficient—by calculating something useful as part of the consensus mechanism. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, the group suggests a useful task that could fit the bill would involve calculations engaged in optimizing energy systems. Mahmoud Mahmoud, with North Carolina A&T State University, has published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team in China.