Applicability and Performance of Cross-Blockchain Communications Protocol in Distributed Resource Marketplaces

Abstract: Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized database that provides transparencyand immutability of the stored data. Blockchain technology is currently being used inmany different areas due to its powerful features which provide integrity, authenticity,and confidentiality of the data it stores. In this thesis, blockchains are regarded as databases for storing data from the distributed marketplace. The marketplace is made of different blockchains. The storeddata will then be shared among different chains within the marketplace, which impliescross-blockchain communication also known as crosschain communication. The focusof this thesis is to study crosschain communication protocol, its implementation, andperformance measurements. A basic system model is designed using the Cosmos SDK to implement theblockchains and IBC protocol is enabled to facilitate communication between theblockchains. The model is later modified to simulate different communication scenarios. The results are captured and analyzed using statistical methods and resultsare presented in graphs.