VERAONET: a virtual ecosystem for rewards and archaeological operations network

Abstract The digital preservation of cultural heritage has advanced considerably through blockchain technologies , offering secure, immutable, and decentralized management of museum records. However, traditional blockchain frameworks suffer from scalability limitations, leading to high transaction costs, network congestion, and inefficient resource utilization—particularly in virtual museum environments with dynamic user activity. To address these challenges, we propose VERAONET (Virtual Ecosystem for Rewards and Archaeological Operations Network), a novel Layer-2 blockchain framework designed specifically for digital heritage applications. VERAONET introduces a pluggable consensus architecture, enabling dynamic switching between Proof of Work (PoW), Adjustable PoW (APoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) mechanisms in response to real-time network conditions. The framework was evaluated in two experimental environments: a Ganache-based local simulation (10–500 users) and a Geth virtual testbed (50–10,000 users). Results indicate that PoS and DPoS significantly outperformed PoW and APoW under high-load conditions, reducing latency, gas consumption, and chain bloat. Conversely, PoW and APoW proved effective in low-traffic, high-security scenarios. The adaptive consensus algorithm enhanced transaction finality and resource efficiency, demonstrating strong suitability for dynamic virtual museum ecosystems. VERAONET thus provides a scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective blockchain infrastructure tailored for cultural heritage preservation. Future work will focus on integrating AI-driven optimizations, supporting cross-chain interoperability, and embedding decentralized governance models.