A blockchain-sharding enabled verifiable cross-chain query scheme

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1671-1122.2026.08.004

Abstract

Abstract:

Aiming at the problems of low efficiency of cross-chain query and complex process of verifying the integrity of cross-chain query in existing blockchains, this article proposed a verifiable cross-chain query framework for blockchain VCS-Chain. This framework designed a three-layer architecture including the storage layer, verification layer and application layer. The storage layer contained two storage forms: transaction chain and dependency chain. This article had built a verifiable inverted index on the dependency chain and adopted a centralized sharding scheme for input accounts on the transaction chain. This article had also transferred the sharding results off-chain, significantly optimizing the efficiency of data storage and querying. In the verification layer, a bidirectional hash cross-validation mechanism had been used to verify the correctness of the data on the transaction chain and ensure the reliability of the query results. Meanwhile, this article introduced the RSA cumulative hash verification algorithm, which verifies the integrity of the dependency chain query. In the application layer, VCS-Chain can perform efficient and verifiable cross-chain queries in various scenarios, enabling efficient tracking and traceability of data on the blockchain. Experimental results show that compared with the scheme Vassago, the query latency of the VCS-Chain scheme has been reduced by more than 24.43% overall in multiple datasets, and the throughput of the system is significantly improved.

Key words: blockchain query, cross-chain, sharding, query verifiability

CLC Number:

TP309

Fu Zhangjie, Liu Tianyi, Song Fuyuan, Jiang Qin. A blockchain-sharding enabled verifiable cross-chain query scheme[J]. Netinfo Security, 2026, 26(8): 1209-1223.

Figures/Tables 14

References 34

[1]	田阳, 陈智罡, 宋新霞, 等. 区块链在供应链管理中的应用综述[J]. 计算机工程与应用, 2021, 57(19): 70-83.
[2]	Cai Ting, Chen Wuhui, Psannis K E, et al. Scalable on-chain and off-chain blockchain for sharing economy in large-scale wireless networks[J]. IEEE Wireless Communications, 2022, 29(3): 32-38.
[3]	Liang Xiubo, Zhao Yu, Wu Junhan, et al. A privacy protection scheme for cross-chain transactions based on group signature and relay chain[J]. International Journal of Digital Crime and Forensics, 2022, 14(2): 1-20.
[4]	Frauenthaler P, Sigwart M, Spanring C, et al. ETH relay: a cost-efficient relay for ethereum-based blockchains[C]// 2020 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain (Blockchain). New York: IEEE, 2020: 204-213.
[5]	Liang Xinyu, Chen Jing, Du Ruiying. XPull: a relay-based blockchain intercommunication framework achieving cross-chain state pulling[J]. Chinese Journal of Electronics, 2024, 33(5): 1261-1273.
[6]	Zhang Yuchao, He Xiaofeng, Wang Xiaotian, et al. DeCross: toward accountable and efficient cross-chain collaboration in IIoT[J]. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 2025, 21(6): 4947-4957.
[7]	Guo Tiezheng, Zhang Zhiwei, Yuan Ye, et al. Hybrid concurrency control protocol for data sharing among heterogeneous blockchains[J]. Frontiers of Computer Science, 2024, 18(3): 183104. doi: 10.1007/s11704-022-2327-7
[8]	Hong Zicong, Guo Song, Li Peng, et al. Pyramid: a layered sharding blockchain system[C]// IEEE INFOCOM 2021 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. New York: IEEE, 2021: 1-10.
[9]	Amiri M J, Agrawal D, El A A. SharPer: sharding permissioned blockchains over network clusters[C]// The 2021 International Conference on Management of Data. New York: ACM, 2021: 76-88.
[10]	Huang Huawei, Peng Xiaowen, Zhan Jianzhou, et al. BrokerChain: a cross-shard blockchain protocol for account/balance-based state sharding[C]// IEEE INFOCOM 2022 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. New York: IEEE, 2022: 1968-1977.
[11]	Hong Zicong, Guo Song, Zhou Enyuan, et al. GriDB: scaling blockchain database via sharding and off-chain cross-shard mechanism[EB/OL]. (2024-07-04)[2026-01-05]. https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03750.
[12]	Chen Xingxing, Cheng Qingfeng, Yang Weidong, et al. An anonymous authentication and secure data transmission scheme for the Internet of things based on blockchain[J]. Frontiers of Computer Science, 2024, 18(3): 183807. doi: 10.1007/s11704-023-2595-x
[13]	赵佳豪, 蒋佳佳, 张玉书. 基于动态默克尔哈希树的跨链数据一致性验证模型[J]. 信息网络安全, 2023, 23(9): 95-107.
[14]	Zhang Ce, Xu Cheng, Xu Jianliang, et al. GEM^2-tree: a gas-efficient structure for authenticated range queries in blockchain[C]// 2019 IEEE 35th International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE). New York: IEEE, 2019: 842-853.
[15]	Pei Qingqi, Zhou Enyuan, Xiao Yang, et al. An efficient query scheme for hybrid storage blockchains based on Merkle semantic trie[C]// 2020 International Symposium on Reliable Distributed Systems (SRDS). New York: IEEE, 2020: 51-60.
[16]	Han Rui, Xiao Jiang, Dai Xiaohai, et al. Vassago: efficient and authenticated provenance query on multiple blockchains[C]// 2021 40th International Symposium on Reliable Distributed Systems (SRDS). New York: IEEE, 2021: 132-142.
[17]	Westerkamp M, Eberhardt J. ZkRelay: facilitating sidechains using zksnark-based chain-relays[C]// 2020 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW). New York: IEEE, 2020: 378-386.
[18]	Li Bo, Duan Tiantian, Zhao Qinglin, et al. Performance modeling of relay chain[J]. IEEE Transactions on Networking, 2025, 33(1): 194-209.
[19]	Zhang Yuanzhe, Pan Shirui, Yu Jiangshan. TxAllo: dynamic transaction allocation in sharded blockchain systems[C]// 2023 IEEE 39th International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE). New York: IEEE, 2023: 721-733.
[20]	Li Mingzhe, Wang Wei, Zhang Jin. LB-Chain: load-Balanced and low-latency blockchain sharding via account migration[J]. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, 2023, 34(10): 2797-2810.
[21]	艾渊, 李家浩, 赵毅涛, 等. 基于贪心策略的区块链动态分片与跨分片交易协议优化[J]. 计算机科学, 2025, 52(增刊2): 904-911.
[22]	Bruch S, NardinI F M, Rulli C, et al. Efficient inverted indexes for approximate retrieval over learned sparse representations[C]// The 47th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval. New York: ACM, 2024: 152-162.
[23]	Dai Hua, Yang Maohu, Yang Geng, et al. A keyword-grouping inverted index based multi-keyword ranked search scheme over encrypted cloud data[J]. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Computing, 2022, 7(3): 561-578.
[24]	Zhao Weichen, Zhao Minghao, Hu Huiqi, et al. Columnar formatted inverted index for highly-paralleled, vectorized query processing[C]// 2025 IEEE 41st International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE). New York: IEEE, 2025: 1800-1813.
[25]	Campanelli M, Fiore D, Han Semin, et al. Succinct zero-knowledge batch proofs for set accumulators[C]// The 2022 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security. New York: ACM, 2022: 455-469.
[26]	任正伟, 鲁力, 李敏, 等. 基于RSA累加器的区块链轻节点方案[J]. 计算机技术与发展, 2025, 35(2): 70-78.
[27]	Boneh D, Bünz B, Fisch B. Batching techniques for accumulators with applications to IOPs and stateless blockchains[EB/OL]. (2019-08-01)[2026-01-05]. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-26948-7_20.
[28]	El-Hindi M, Heyden M, Binnig C, et al. BlockchainDB - towards a shared database on blockchains[C]// The 2019 International Conference on Management of Data. New York: ACM, 2019: 1905-1908.
[29]	Ge Zerui, Loghin D, Ooi B C, et al. Hybrid blockchain database systems: design and performance[J]. Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment, 2022, 15(5): 1092-1104.
[30]	Peng Yanqing, Du Min, Li Feifei, et al. FalconDB: blockchain-based collaborative database[C]//The 2020 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data. New York: ACM, 2020: 637-652.
[31]	Wang Sheng, Dinh T T A, Lin Qian, et al. ForkBase: an efficient storage engine for blockchain and forkable applications[EB/OL]. (2018-02-14)[2026-01-05]. https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.04949.
[32]	Xu Cheng, Zhang Ce, Xu Jianliang. VChain: enabling verifiable boolean range queries over blockchain databases[C]// The 2019 International Conference on Management of Data. New York: ACM, 2019: 141-158.
[33]	Wang Haixin, Xu Cheng, Zhang Ce, et al. VChain+: optimizing verifiable blockchain boolean range queries[C]// 2022 IEEE 38th International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE). New York: IEEE, 2022: 1927-1940.
[34]	王思蝶, 马兆丰, 罗守山, 等. 面向异构多链的区块链链上数据隐私保护方案[J]. 信息网络安全, 2022, 22(12): 67-75.