A Multi-party Rational Exchange Protocol

In recent years, existing computing schemes and paradigms have evolved towards more flexible, ad-hoc scalable frameworks. Nowadays, exchanging interactions between entities often takes place in nonstructured environments where the number and nature of the different participants are unknown variables. In this context, traditional fair exchange protocols cease to be a feasible solution to the exchanging problem, as they are not sufficiently adaptable to offer the same guarantees in such new scenarios. Rational exchange protocols represent a real alternative to fair exchange exchange. In this paper, we propose the first multi-party rational exchange protocol, giving solution to the exchange problem in a context where the number of entities could vary in each different instance of the protocol and where rational (self-interested) parties, exchange their items without the involvement of a trusted third party (TTP). We also formally analyze our new scheme by applying some Game Theory concepts. Besides the simplicity of our model and a restrictive set of initial assumptions, several real life scenarios can be resolved with the proposed scheme.