PADRE: Privacy-Aware Decentralized Randomness

A Decentralized Randomness Beacon (DRB, a cryptographic tool that generates unpredictable, publicly verifiable randomness for distributed systems) is used in blockchain and distributed networks, but existing protocols like GRandLine and RandFlash expose participants' identities during leader election, risking privacy leaks. The paper proposes PADRE, a new privacy-aware DRB protocol that hides participant identities while maintaining security and efficiency, using a new cryptographic primitive called anonymous threshold verifiable random functions (ATVRF).