Analysis of FPGA-Based Secure Architecture of Hash Functions for Blockchain Algorithms

In recent years, blockchain technology has arisen as a safe and decentralized framework for various applications, including cryptocurrencies, digital contracts, and supply chain management. At the heart of blockchain's security lies cryptographic hash functions, such as SHA-256, which preserve immutability and data integrity. However, implementing hash functions in software can be inefficient for real-time applications due to high computational requirements. This paper proposes and analyzes an FPGA-based architecture for lightweight secure hash functions, specifically focusing on performance, scalability, and energy efficiency. By leveraging the parallelism and reconfigurability of FPGAs, the proposed architecture significantly enhances the throughput of hash computations while ensuring robustness and security, making it an ideal solution for blockchain algorithms. Bit permutation, linear transformation, and S-Box functionality are used in the suggested design. Performance evaluation is conducted through the implementation of the SHA-256 algorithm, with comparisons to traditional software-based methods. For an appropriate FPGA-based application deployment, a comparison of suggested designs is detailed on various FPGA families. The results demonstrate substantial improvements in terms of power efficiency and security in blockchain environments.