I've compared the 2 versions of the Ethereum wiki page about the hard problems of cryptoeconomics:
and found that the version from 2015 has a section titled Random Number Generation:
The open-ended challenge is to come up with a mechanism inside of a cryptoeconomic context which provides random numbers as output with maximally relaxed security assumptions and maximal robustness and resilience to attackers – ideally, a mechanism with the same properties as proof of work but without (or with only a negligible fraction of) its cost.
It also mentions the "N-of-N commit-reveal, as exemplified in Tomlion's RANDAO protocol" and its limitations.
This section is missing in the latest revision of the document. Does it mean that random number generation has been solved?
Best Answer
Yes, it has been solved by Chainlink VRF.
Getting a random number in a determanistic system is difficult, so we need to look outside the blockchain to get the random number. The question then, would be "is this number truly random?"
The Chainlink VRF has on-chain contracts that check to see if numbers are truly randomized, and can be easily generated.