Thematic Area 2

Fortifying the Foundations of Decentralized Systems

While cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies promise decentralization, many drift toward centralization and systemic risk. My work diagnoses these structural weaknesses and develops interdisciplinary solutions, drawing on cryptography, network science, and economics—to make decentralized systems more secure, resilient, and aligned with their founding principles.

Contribution

Improving the Topology of Payment Channel Networks

Abstract mesh of connected nodes

Our latest work [TC25] addressed a key weakness in layer-2 systems such as Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, known for fast, low-cost off-chain transactions. However, user incentives push connections toward the most central peers. This “price of anarchy” undermines decentralization, disadvantaging peripheral users, and increasing vulnerability to targeted attacks. We proposed a strategic mesh channels model: a hybrid topology where part of each user’s connections follow a predefined, highly connected expander graph, ensuring strong decentralization, while the rest remain user-selected. This design blends spectral graph theory with deployable smart contracts, improves resilience and connectivity in simulations, and embeds economic incentives so compliance is a rational choice. The work challenges the belief that decentralization must emerge from unregulated growth, showing that light structural guidance can yield more equitable and robust systems.

Contribution

Managing Cryptocurrency Liquidity

Abstract market and liquidity visualization

In Towards Decentralized Adaptive Control of Cryptocurrency Liquidity via Auction [TC@ICDCS23], we developed a mechanism that uses auction theory and mechanism design to adaptively manage asset supply and demand in DeFi systems, enhancing stability, efficiency, and usability without centralized control.

Additional Advances

Additional Advances

We have also addressed practical payment challenges. Sipster [CLZJ@ACSAC21] enables private IOU settlement using smart meters, while LDSP [NCWW@ICDCS21] supports fast, private cryptocurrency shopping under a leadership model. At the protocol layer, our fast-to-finalize Nakamoto-like consensus [TCLL@ACISP19, Best Student Paper Award] additimproves transaction finality speed. Finally, our sustainable ring-based anonymous systems work [CELRW@CSF23] for the first time, reveals how to simultaneously preserve long-term privacy and operational viability.

References

Selected Publications

  1. [TC@FC25] Shuyang Tang, Sherman S. M. Chow.
    Strengthening Multi-hop Channels via Strategic Mesh Connections.
    Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC) 2025.
  2. [TC@ICDCS23] Shuyang Tang, Sherman S. M. Chow.
    Towards Decentralized Adaptive Control of Cryptocurrency Liquidity via Auction.
    IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) 2023.
  3. [CELRW@CSF23] Sherman S. M. Chow, Christoph Egger, Russell W. F. Lai, Viktoria Ronge, Ivy K. Y. Woo.
    On Sustainable Ring-Based Anonymous Systems.
    IEEE Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF) 2023.
  4. [CLZJ@ACSAC21] Sherman S. M. Chow, Ming Li, Yongjun Zhao, Wenqiang Jin.
    Sipster: Settling IOU Privately and Quickly with Smart Meters.
    Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC) 2021.
  5. [NCWW@ICDCS21] Lucien K. L. Ng, Sherman S. M. Chow, Donald P. H. Wong, Anna P. Y. Woo.
    LDSP: Shopping with Cryptocurrency Privately and Quickly under Leadership.
    IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) 2021.
  6. [TCLL@ACISP19] Shuyang Tang, Sherman S. M. Chow, Zhiqiang Liu, Joseph K. Liu.
    Fast-to-Finalize Nakamoto-Like Consensus.
    Australasian Conference Information Security and Privacy (ACISP) 2019.
Contact

Get in touch

Email: [firstname]@ie.cuhk.edu.hk