Virtual Proof of Work: Analysis of the Cellula Project

Since 2017, a large number of low-threshold asset issuance methods have emerged in the Web3 field, but they have also brought numerous issues. People have been hoping for a fairer and more reliable asset issuance protocol to address these problems. The Cellula project provides a new perspective by implementing an asset distribution layer that simulates PoW, using virtual proof of work (vPOW) to "mine" the asset distribution process, in order to simulate a fairer asset distribution paradigm as achieved by Bitcoin.

The core of Cellula lies in replacing the traditional PoW hash computation with an unpredictable computation method - the Conway's Game of Life algorithm. Players need to allocate computing power to a virtual digital entity ( called "BitLife" ), similar to cultivating cell clusters in a Petri dish. As time progresses, the more surviving cells in a player's Petri dish, the higher the mining power obtained after conversion, and the greater the probability of receiving mining rewards.

In Cellula, BitLife acts as a petri dish, where the entity ( is actually an NFT ), consisting of 81 squares, each containing a cell that may survive or die. Players need to choose the initial mode of BitLife, and the cell states will change as the block height increases. The system will allocate computing power based on the state of BitLife at different block heights; the more surviving cells there are in BitLife, the higher the computing power it possesses.

The player's goal is to construct or purchase the BitLife that is most likely to earn mining rewards. This model allows ordinary users to develop their own "mining machines", and they can also sell their own "mining machines" to others or purchase others' "mining machines" for mining. Whether constructing or purchasing BitLife, a large amount of off-chain computation is required to deduce the state evolution of different models.

To maintain the stability of the game ecosystem, Cellula has limited the minting quantity of BitLife. In the future, Cellula will also introduce roles similar to mining machine manufacturers, responsible for minting and selling BitLife on a larger scale.

In addition to the core vPOW mechanism, Cellula also introduces the Analysoor random number output algorithm to facilitate charging lotteries, as well as variable rate progressive Dutch auctions ( VRGDAs ) to dynamically adjust the minting price of BitLife, preventing unlimited minting by scientists from causing value dilution.

From the perspective of player competition, Cellula simulates the operational form of the Bitcoin mining machine market, but lowers the threshold for "mining machine development." Neither scientists, project parties, nor ordinary players can unilaterally control the market, creating a dynamic balance. Compared to the traditional Bitcoin mining machine industry chain, Cellula offers a more interesting and inclusive social experiment.