A rational adversary in the context of blockchain and cryptography is an entity assumed to act in its own self-interest, seeking to maximize its gain or minimize its loss. This adversary possesses computational resources and knowledge of the system but is not necessarily irrational or destructive without reason. Protocol designs often account for such adversaries by creating economic disincentives for malicious behavior. Their actions are predictable based on economic logic.
Context
The concept of a rational adversary is fundamental to the security proofs and game-theoretic analyses of decentralized protocols. Crypto news and academic discussions frequently refer to this model when evaluating the robustness of consensus mechanisms or the economic security of digital assets. Designing systems that remain secure even against rational adversaries is a key challenge in blockchain development.
This research introduces Cryptographic Whistleblowing, a mechanism design primitive that uses provable on-chain penalties to enforce honesty against financially rational colluders.
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