New Algorithm Dramatically Speeds Up Blockchain for the Internet of Things
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A breakthrough from researchers at Chiba University promises to unlock the full potential of blockchain technology for the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT). The new algorithm, dubbed “Dual Perigee,” significantly reduces data transmission delays, paving the way for real-time applications in sectors ranging from smart cities to healthcare.
The promise of a fully connected world – billions of physical devices collecting and exchanging data – hinges on secure and reliable data management. Blockchain technology, traditionally associated with cryptocurrencies, offers a compelling solution as a decentralized digital ledger, shared across many computers rather than controlled by a single entity. However, the inherent speed limitations of most blockchain systems have hindered their widespread adoption in time-sensitive IoT applications.
The Bottleneck in IoT Blockchain Networks
While blockchain’s security is a major draw, its sluggish performance has been a persistent challenge. Smart devices often require responses in fractions of a second, a pace current blockchain networks struggle to maintain. Initial investigations pointed not to the blockchain software itself, but to inefficiencies in how devices communicate within peer-to-peer networks. Specifically, the network topology – the structure of these connections – had been largely overlooked as a key factor impacting performance.
To address this issue, a research team led by Associate Professor Kien Nguyen from the Institute for Advanced Academic Research/Graduate School of Informatics, Chiba University, Japan, embarked on a study to optimize efficiency in IoT blockchain networks. Their findings, published in IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management on December 17, 2025, analyze the influence of different network topologies and introduce Dual Perigee as a solution. “We aimed to bridge the gap between theoretical design and practical deployment of IoT-blockchain systems by identifying the fundamental causes of their high latency and proposing a decentralized solution that is both simple and effective,” Dr. Nguyen explained. The research team also included Koki Koshikawa, Yue Su, and Hiroo Sekiya, all from Chiba University.
Duplicate Data: The Root of the Problem
The team’s simulations revealed a critical flaw in existing decentralized IoT networks: frequent transmission of the same data multiple times. Current methods for sharing transactions (individual data entries) and blocks (collections of verified records) can lead to an exponential increase in duplicate copies. As these duplicates propagate through overlapping communication paths, networks become congested, and data queues up, resulting in significant delays.
Dual Perigee: A Self-Organizing Solution
To combat this congestion, the researchers developed Dual Perigee, a decentralized and lightweight algorithm that empowers each device to make intelligent connection decisions. Instead of relying on random connections, a device utilizing Dual Perigee assesses its peers based on their transaction and block delivery speeds. Slow connections are systematically dropped and replaced with faster alternatives, allowing the network to organically reshape itself into a more efficient configuration – all without the need for a central authority.
Testing in a simulated 50-node IoT environment demonstrated Dual Perigee’s effectiveness. The algorithm reduced block-related delays by 48.54% compared to the standard method used by the Ethereum blockchain. Furthermore, it outperformed advanced approaches, including the original Perigee algorithm, by over 23%. Importantly, these improvements were achieved without increasing the processing burden on IoT devices, as the algorithm relies on passively measuring existing data flow.
Implications for Real-Time and Critical Applications
The implications of this research are far-reaching. Faster data confirmation and sharing unlock the potential for blockchain systems to support applications where timing is paramount. “The proposed decentralized latency-aware peer-selection mechanism can serve as a foundation for future blockchain platforms that support real-time, mission-critical IoT services, ultimately enabling more secure, responsive, and trustworthy digital infrastructures,” Dr. Nguyen stated.
Preparing for the Future of Connected Devices
As IoT networks continue to expand in scale and complexity, the demand for decentralized and reliable communication methods will only intensify. The researchers believe Dual Perigee is poised to play a crucial role in emerging technologies. “Our approach can be applied to emerging IoT-based services that require fast and reliable data sharing, such as smart cities, smart homes, industrial monitoring, healthcare systems, and supply-chain tracking,” Dr. Nguyen concluded.
This research received support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (Grant Number: 23H03377) and partially from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) through the establishment of university fellowships towards the creation of science and technology innovation (Grant Number: JPMJFS2107).
