Cardano ecosystem introduces proof of burn ( PoB ) protocol

Recently, the Iagon team developed a proof of burn ( PoB ) protocol suitable for the Cardano ecosystem in response to the challenge posed by Charles Hoskinson. This article will detail the implementation specifics of this solution.

Overview of the Proof of Burn Mechanism

Burning proof is essentially the act of sending tokens to an inaccessible "black hole" address, achieving the permanent destruction of tokens. This mechanism can be used to increase the value of remaining tokens or as proof of commitment to a blockchain protocol. The security of the burning operation is based on cryptographic hash functions, creating the black hole address by flipping the least significant bit of the hash function output.

PoB Implementation in Cardano Smart Contracts

Cardano smart contracts consist of three parts: redeemer scripts, wallet scripts, and eUTxOs. The contract supports four operations: burn, verify burn, lock, and redeem. The burn and lock operations use the same redeemer format, ensuring that intermediaries cannot distinguish between the two.

Smart Contract Deployment Process

1. Install the Haskell toolchain
2. Build Plutus script
3. Start Cardano node and wallet container
4. Restore wallet and get wallet ID
5. Execute token burn
6. Verify the burn operation

Implementation Based on Wallet Script

To further enhance security, PoB can be implemented using only wallet scripts. This method generates a burn address by replacing the commitment value hash with the public key hash and flipping the least significant bit. The Cardano API library is needed to handle the address structure and CRC verification.

Summary

This article introduces two methods for implementing the proof of burn protocol within the Cardano ecosystem: smart contracts and wallet scripts. Considering the current infrastructure limitations, the wallet script solution is recommended. In the future, with the improvement of the PAB library, a complex smart contract solution combined with wallet scripts will become more feasible, helping to create a censorship-resistant environment.