NCHAIN LICENSING AG

A method of controlling and coordinating of processing steps in a distributed system can be implemented by an initiator node of a cyclically-ordered set of nodes participating in a blockchain network (e.g., Bitcoin blockchain). The method includes generating a private key and cryptographic shares thereof for the nodes of the set and distributing them. A locking value is determined based on the shares and a transaction is arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of a corresponding unlocking value. A circuit of transactions amongst the nodes each arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of an unlocking value corresponding to a locking value determined based on the share distributed to a first node of one of two adjacent nodes and a value received from another node immediately previous to it is prepared. The initiator node may belong to a cyclically-ordered set of initiator nodes.

A method of controlling and coordinating of processing steps in a distributed system can be implemented by an initiator node of a cyclically-ordered set of nodes participating in a blockchain network (e.g., Bitcoin blockchain). The method includes generating a private key and cryptographic shares thereof for the nodes of the set and distributing them. A locking value is determined based on the shares and a transaction is arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of a corresponding unlocking value. A circuit of transactions amongst the nodes each arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of an unlocking value corresponding to a locking value determined based on the share distributed to a first node of one of two adjacent nodes and a value received from another node immediately previous to it is prepared. The initiator node may belong to a cyclically-ordered set of initiator nodes.

A specialized network (“merchant”) node to facilitate fast distribution of blockchain transactions over a network of interconnected nodes, as subset of which are merchant nodes interconnected by an overlay network. The merchant node includes a memory storing an assigned portion of a distributed mempool structured as a distributed hash table, the distributed mempool containing pending transactions awaiting confirmation. The merchant node operates by receiving a transaction, including a transaction identifier; hashing the new transaction identifier to obtain a key; determining, using the key, whether the transaction is stored in the distributed mempool or not and, if not, then storing the transaction in the distributed mempool as a pending transaction; and sending the transaction to a set of nodes other than merchant nodes using peer-to-peer connections. The invention may be used in conjunction with the Bitcoin blockchain or an alternative.

A method is presented for secure determination of a solution (S) to a computational task by a pooled resource or group having a plurality of participants (P), the group operating in a trust-less, or dealer-free, system or manner. Access to a resource or reward is offered in exchange for the solution. Individuals generate their own key pair and use their public key to establish with the group an initial shared public key that they can all use to find a solution to the task. The resource or reward can be secured by the verified shared public key. Because the private keys of each participant were used in the determination of the initial shared public key that lead to the solution then participants must then collaborate to unlock the resource or reward because the corresponding shared private key can only be generated by all participants or a pre-agreed threshold of participants.

In one aspect, the present disclosure proposes methods, devices, and systems for implementing or providing a computation or execution service for transactions associated with a blockchain for a client. In more detail, the present disclosure relates to a method for enabling the execution of one or more smart contracts based on a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) transmission protocol format (HTTP) request from the client. The method includes accessing a smart contract SC in the request and identifying an event stream ES implemented using the blockchain, where the event stream ES is specific to the smart contract SC, the event stream ES representing the states of the smart contract SC. The current state of the smart contract ES n is determined. The method then includes invoking execution of the smart contract SC. Then, the method invokes updating the event stream ES by processing a new event E n for the event stream ES, is identified in the received request, and processed by creating a blockchain transaction. The current state of the smart contract on the blockchain is then updated to be ES n =ES n+1 , based on the new event E n . A result associated with updated current state ES n+1 is then provided.

A specialized network (“merchant”) node to facilitate fast distribution of blockchain transactions over a network of interconnected nodes, as subset of which are merchant nodes interconnected by an overlay network. The merchant node includes a memory storing an assigned portion of a distributed mempool structured as a distributed hash table, the distributed mempool containing pending transactions awaiting confirmation. The merchant node operates by receiving a transaction, including a transaction identifier; hashing the new transaction identifier to obtain a key; determining, using the key, whether the transaction is stored in the distributed mempool or not and, if not, then storing the transaction in the distributed mempool as a pending transaction; and sending the transaction to a set of nodes other than merchant nodes using peer-to-peer connections. The invention may be used in conjunction with the Bitcoin blockchain or an alternative.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure proposes methods, devices and systems for implementing a platform providing a plurality of services that are associated with a blockchain, using a platform processor associated with an application programming interface (API) that is capable of receiving a client request in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) transmission protocol format for a service. Further to suitable verification of the identity of the client and/or the request, a destination address or endpoint for the requested blockchain service is determined, and at least one blockchain transaction is generated based on the destination address to obtain an output script. A result based on the output script is then sent to the given client in the HTTP transmission protocol format. In some aspects, the blockchain transaction is associated with an event stream that is implemented as a Finite State Machine on the blockchain.

A method performed in a layered network. The layered network comprises a core layer comprising one or more core nodes, one or more intermediate layers each comprising one or more intermediate layer nodes, and one or more outer layers each comprising one or more outer layer nodes. Each core node is a node of a blockchain network. At least some intermediate layer nodes are database nodes. At least some outer layer nodes are client nodes. Each database node stores at least part of a distributed database. The method includes, at a database node: receiving one or more update requests from one or more client nodes requesting to update a database entry; and for each update request, applying the update locally and/or forwarding to another database node.

A method of controlling and coordinating of processing steps in a distributed system can be implemented by an initiator node of a cyclically-ordered set of nodes participating in a blockchain network (e.g., Bitcoin blockchain). The method includes generating a private key and cryptographic shares thereof for the nodes of the set and distributing them. A locking value is determined based on the shares and a transaction is arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of a corresponding unlocking value. A circuit of transactions amongst the nodes each arranged to transmit control of a resource responsive to supply of an unlocking value corresponding to a locking value determined based on the share distributed to a first node of one of two adjacent nodes and a value received from another node immediately previous to it is prepared. The initiator node may belong to a cyclically-ordered set of initiator nodes.

The invention relates to secure determination of a solution (S) to a computational task by a dealer-free threshold signature group. Access to a resource or reward is offered in exchange for the solution. The method enables individuals in said group to work together in a trust-less, or dealer-free manner. To achieve this, individuals generate their own key pair and use their public key to establish with the group an initial shared public key that they can all use, in parallel, to find a solution to the task. Their own private keys remain secret and, therefore, the collaboration is trust¬less, and operates efficiently, because a verified shared public key is created using the initial shared public key that was used when a solution is found and verified. The resource or reward can be secured by the verified shared public key. Because the private keys of each participant were used in the determination of the initial shared public key that lead to the solution then participants must then collaborate to unlock the resource or reward because the corresponding shared private key can only be generated by all participants or a pre-agreed threshold of participants. Efficiency is achievable by using an initial shared public key and calculating with the group a verified shared public key after the solution has been found. The invention enables the task to be trust-less by using the homomorphic properties of elliptic curve cryptography when applying Shamir's secret sharing scheme. The inventive concept resides in the secure, trust-less and efficient way in which a group can collaborate. The invention can be agnostic to the task.