A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

Jingjing Zhang; Yinxia Ran; Xiuju Huang; Cong Zuo; Junke Duan; Yun Pan; Licheng Wang; Jingtao Wang

doi:10.3390/e28010033

A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

Jingjing Zhang
, Yinxia Ran
, Xiuju Huang
, Cong Zuo
, Junke Duan
, Yun Pan^*
, Licheng Wang^*
, Jingtao Wang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.

Original language	English
Article number	33
Journal	Entropy
Volume	28
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/e28010033
Publication status	Published - Jan 2026
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

proof of sequential work
time-lock puzzles
timed cryptography
verifiable delay functions

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10.3390/e28010033

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abstract = "Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.",

keywords = "proof of sequential work, time-lock puzzles, timed cryptography, verifiable delay functions",

author = "Jingjing Zhang and Yinxia Ran and Xiuju Huang and Cong Zuo and Junke Duan and Yun Pan and Licheng Wang and Jingtao Wang",

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AU - Zhang, Jingjing

AU - Ran, Yinxia

AU - Huang, Xiuju

AU - Zuo, Cong

AU - Duan, Junke

AU - Pan, Yun

AU - Wang, Licheng

AU - Wang, Jingtao

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AB - Proof of sequential work (PoSW), as an emerging cryptographic primitive, is designed to provide a verifiable method for proving that a computational process has incurred a real and continuous expenditure of time. This characteristic demonstrates its significant application potential in decentralized systems, time-stamping services, and trusted computing. This paper systematically reviews and discusses the developmental trajectory, typical variants, potential attacks, and diverse applications of PoSW. Concurrently, it places a special emphasis on analyzing the evolutionary path and application scenarios of its important special case—the verifiable delay function (VDF) aiming to provide a comprehensive reference for research and practice in related fields.

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KW - time-lock puzzles

KW - timed cryptography

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ER -

A Survey on Proof of Sequential Work: Development, Security Analysis, and Application Prospects

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Keywords

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