How the Greedy Algorithm Shapes Miner Rewards in Blockchain Networks

This section of the article models blockchain mining as a game between an adversarial “nature” and a miner with incomplete knowledge of future transactions. It introduces the Greedy Allocation Function, which prioritizes transactions offering the highest fees, and explores how discount rates and adversarial scheduling affect miner performance. Using competitive ratio analysis, it shows that even simple greedy strategies can yield near-optimal outcomes against worst-case scenarios — offering insight into why real-world miners in Bitcoin and Ethereum often rely on similar heuristics.