Theoretical Computer Science: Algorand, A Secure and Efficient Distributed ledger

The paper "Algorand: A Secure and Efficient Distributed Ledger" by Jing Chen and Silvio Micali introduces Algorand, a new type of distributed ledger designed to address the limitations of current systems. Distributed ledgers are secure, public, and decentralized systems for recording transactions, but they face scalability issues. Algorand aims to overcome these challenges by being both secure and efficient without the need for resource-intensive "proof of work" mining. Instead, Algorand operates in a permissionless and highly asynchronous environment, requiring minimal computation. One of its key features is that it ensures transaction finality almost instantly, significantly reducing the likelihood of transaction forks.

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