Verifiable Random Inputs

The signatures generated by Muon’s Threshold Network can be used as verifiable random numbers.

Many blockchain apps including lotteries, gaming, and NFT apps need random inputs. However, generating random numbers is a challenge in the blockchain environment. An approach used in generating random numbers in smart contracts is through block hashes, where the hash of blocks is used as the source of randomness. However, this hash is subject to manipulation by miners. A miner can influence the block-hash by including some transactions and excluding others to generate their desired numbers. Thus, this method is not a secure one for high-stake randomness-based applications.

A widely used alternative is making use of Verifiable Random Function (VRF), a pseudo-random function which, given an input, produces a random output along with a proof for correct evaluation. VRF can be considered a public-key version of general hashing functions (e.g. SHA256 or Keccak). However, ‏this method is not secure either if the miner holds the private key used to generate the random data.

The solution Muon offers is using the signatures generated by Muon’s Threshold Network as verifiable random numbers. They are random in that they cannot be predicted prior to generation, and verifiable because it can be verified that numerous parties have cooperated to generate them.