How Does LMD GHOST Deal With Attacks?
One potential attack risk is a “balancing attack” meant to split consensus between two competing versions of the ledger. To prevent balancing attacks, the Ethereum developers modified LMD GHOST to incentivize confirming only one fork. The changes ensure nodes bet on a single chain to continue building new blocks. This modification has successfully protected Ethereum from major balancing attacks thus far. Ongoing monitoring and tweaks to LMD GHOST aim to head off any future attacks that threaten consensus.
Does LMD GHOST Bring Fast Performance?
By design, LMD GHOST offers superior performance and scalability compared to previous consensus methods. It allows Ethereum to handle far faster transaction speeds and higher throughput than Bitcoin. However, the surge in Ethereum adoption has also revealed limitations in LMD GHOST’s capabilities. Congestion and high gas fees frequently bog down the network. More refinements to the protocol are needed to fully realize its potential.
Different Between LMD GHOST and Ethereum GHOST Protocol
The Ghost protocol is the basis for LMD Ghost. LMD Ghost is a fork choice rule used in Ethereum's consensus protocol. LMD GHOST provides strong protection against tampering and revision of Ethereum’s transaction records. Its multi-step voting process makes it difficult for attackers to override consensus. The major security concern is its vulnerability to balancing attacks. However, the preventative changes implemented have proven effective so far. Additional mechanisms to disincentives and penalize such attacks could offer even greater protection.
Does LMD GHOST Bring Benefits Beyond Ethereum?
LMD GHOST has the ability to broadly benefit blockchain technology. The voting approach it pioneered enables faster and more decentralized consensus. These advantages could enhance transaction speeds, efficiency and participation in other public blockchains should they implement an LMD GHOST-style protocol.
