LedgerDB: a centralized ledger database for universal audit and verification

AbstractThe emergence of Blockchain has attracted widespread attention. However, we observe that in practice, many applications on permissioned blockchains do not benefit from the decentralized architecture. When decentralized architecture is used but not required, system performance is often restricted, resulting in low throughput, high latency, and significant storage overhead. Hence, we propose LedgerDB on Alibaba Cloud, which is a centralized ledger database with tamper-evidence and non-repudiation features similar to blockchain, and provides strong auditability. LedgerDB has much higher throughput compared to blockchains. It offers stronger auditability by adopting a TSA two-way peg protocol, which prevents malicious behaviors from both users and service providers. LedgerDB supports verifiable data removals demanded by many real-world applications, which are able to remove obsolete records for storage saving and hide records for regulatory purpose, without compromising its verifiability. Experimental evaluation shows that LedgerDB's throughput is 80X higher than state-of-the-art permissioned blockchain (i.e., Hyperledger Fabric). Many blockchain customers (e.g., IP protection and supply chain) on Alibaba Cloud have switched to LedgerDB for its high throughput, low latency, strong auditability, and ease of use.