A trustless decentralized protocol for distributed consensus of public quantum random numbers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a decentralized protocol for generating quantum random numbers through a consensus mechanism, enabling multiple distrustful parties to produce and verify unbiased, secure, and publicly verifiable quantum randomness.

Contribution

It presents the first consensus protocol for distributed quantum random number generation, ensuring security even with up to (N-1) dishonest participants.

Findings

Protocol successfully produces verifiable quantum random numbers.

Security is guaranteed against (N-1) dishonest participants.

Prototype implementation demonstrates feasibility.

Abstract

Quantum random number (QRNG) beacons distinguish themselves from classical counterparts by providing intrinsic unpredictability originating from the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. Most demonstrations have focused on certifiable randomness generators to guarantee the public that their genuineness is independent from imperfect implementations. These efforts however do not benefit applications where multiple distrusted users need a common set of random numbers, as they must rely on the honesty of beacon owners. In this paper, we formally introduce a design and proof-of-principle experiment of the first consensus protocol producing QRNs in a decentralized environment (dQRNG). Such protocol allows N number of participants contribute in the generation process and publicly verify numbers they collect. Security of the protocol is guaranteed given(N-1) dishonest participants. Our method is thus suited for distribute systems that requires a bias-resistant, highly secure, and public-verifiable random beacon.