Enhancing Blockchain Decentralization through Epoch Age-Based Validator Selection: The WEAVE Algorithm

Decentralization is essential to blockchains because it enables them to serve as next-generation global infrastructure. However, many recent studies have found that numerous blockchains have not achieved a significant degree of decentralization. To maintain decentralization, consensus algorithms are key as they determine how profits are distributed among network participants. This study highlights consensus, particularly validator selection algorithms, and proposes a method called Weighted Epoch Age Validator Election (WEAVE) based on epoch age to enhance decentralization. Through simulations, we analyze WEAVE’s impact on system decentralization, demonstrating that it effectively maintains and improves decentralization. Notably, WEAVE achieves a 69.36% improvement in the Gini coefficient after 1000 epochs compared to existing methods.