Upgrading My Open Source Proof of Work Blockchain

Introduction

In this post, I’ll dive deep into the upgrades I implemented in my open-source Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain. These changes have significantly improved its performance, security, and usability. Let’s break down these upgrades, featuring rich code snippets and detailed explanations.

Enhanced Node Management and Balances

Initially, nodes were managed superficially without keeping track of essential attributes like balances.

def add_node(self):
    node = Node()
    self.nodes[node.address] = node
    self.balances[node.address] = 0  # Initialize node balance
    return node.address

This method ensures each node has a unique address and initialized balance, streamlining node management and enhancing the accuracy of transaction processing.

Improved Transaction Validation

Transaction validation previously focused only on format and signature verification without considering the sender’s ability to complete the transaction.

def is_transaction_valid(self, transaction):
    if transaction.amount <= 0 or transaction.sender == transaction.recipient:
        return False
    if self.get_balance(transaction.sender) <…