Developing a high-level language for smart-contracts, its operating semantics, and smart-contract verification systems (an interactive one and an automated one)

1. Developing a consensus protocol — methods for achieving the decentralized consensus of the nodes regarding including the information in the register and achieving its no-rollback (finalization), a formal proof of the protocol security. 

2. Developing cryptographic primitives to support the blockchain system integrity (hashing) and ensuring the data access authorization (digital signature).

3. Developing the efficient methods of data serialization to transfer and store information. 

4. Developing encryption protocols for network data transfer. 

5. Developing the methods of stimulating the blockchain system users to behavior aimed at maintaining the integrity and workability of the system.

Laboratory staff are responsible for the following tasks: 

1. Developing the interaction protocol for the peer nodes of the blockchain system: Adding a new node, searching for neighboring nodes, synchronizing data among the nodes, ensuring the network connectivity, and detecting and blocking attacks. 

2. Developing interfaces for the remote interaction with a node (JSON-RCP and WebSockets). 

3. Developing libraries that allow sending and receiving data from the blockchain system via the user’s applications.