Verifiable Delay Functions

Explore the concept of Verifiable Delay Functions (VDFs) in this 22-minute conference talk presented at Crypto 2018. Delve into the security properties, related cryptographic primitives, and various applications of VDFs, including random beacons and public entropy sources. Examine potential uses in stock price manipulation prevention and simple bulletin boards. Investigate different VDF constructions, such as hash chains with verifiable computation, incrementally verifiable computation, and IVC SNARK optimizations. Compare square-root-based approaches to SHA256 and explore the potential of asymmetric permutations and permutation polynomials. Gain insights into this cutting-edge cryptographic primitive and its implications for secure, time-based computations.

Intro
What is a VDF?
Security Properties (Informal)
Related Crypto Primitives
Many uses for random beacons
Public entropy source
Stock price manipulation
Stock price randomness beacon
Simple Bulletin Board
Part II: Constructions
Hash Chain w/ Verifiable Computation
Incrementally Verifiable Computation
IVC SNARK Optimizations
Square-roots vs SHA256
Better asymmetric permutations?
Permutation Polynomials Holy Grail
Construction Summary