Term

Verifiable Delay Function (VDF)

A function that takes a guaranteed minimum time to compute, with fast publicly verifiable proofs.

Type:
cryptography
consensus
1
definition

VDFs enforce time delays that can’t be parallelized, useful for unbiased randomness beacons and leader election. The output comes with a proof that’s quick to verify.

Example 1.1

"A randomness beacon uses a VDF to prevent adversaries from quickly grinding through many seeds to bias the outcome."

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