Granted Patent B2

US 12,243,056 · App. 17/431,099 · Granted Mar 4, 2025

Inventors: Craig Steven Wright (Cardiff, GB); Jack Owen Davies (Cardiff, GB); Alexander Tennyson Mackay (Cardiff, GB)

Assignee: nChain Licensing AG

G06Q20/389G06Q20/065G06Q20/0658G06Q20/223G06Q20/3678G06Q20/38215G06Q20/3823G06Q20/3827G06Q20/3829G06Q20/4014H04L9/0825H04L9/088H04L9/30H04L9/3218H04L9/3239G06Q20/341G06Q2220/00H04L9/50H04L2209/56

Abstract

Claims (45)

1. A blockchain implemented Simplified Payment Verification system operative to facilitate a transfer of an asset on or over a blockchain that is maintained by a blockchain network between a first verification resource of a transferor and a second verification resource of a transferee, and wherein:

the first verification resource is operative to send, to the second verification resource:

data relating to a payment transaction (Tx 3 ) that comprises an output that transfers the asset to the transferee;

complete transaction data relating to at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) that comprises an unspent output that is spendable by an input of the payment transaction (Tx 3 ); and

the complete Merkle path of the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 );

and the second verification resource is operative to:

at least one of receive or request, from the first verification resource, the complete transaction data relating to the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ); and the complete Merkle path for the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 );

use the Merkle path and the complete transaction data relating to the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) to provide a Merkle proof for the at least one transaction, and use the Merkle proof to verify, at the second verification resource and without interaction with the blockchain network, that the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) has been processed by the blockchain network and mined into a block on the blockchain; and

upon successful verification of the Merkle proof, send the payment transaction (Tx 3 ) to the blockchain network to transfer the asset from the transferor to the transferee.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first or second verification resources are or comprise at least one of a smart card, digital wallet and lightweight wallet or an SPV wallet.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second verification resource is operative to at least one of receive or request, from the first verification resource, the complete transaction data and the complete Merkle path for the at least one transaction (Tx) using an off-chain communication.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is operative to:

use the complete Merkle path to verify a Merkle proof for the at least one blockchain transaction and, upon successful verification, send the payment transaction (Tx 3 ) to the blockchain network.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a plurality of second verification resources, and a coordination component operative to communicate with the plurality of second verification resources.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second verification resource is also operative to at least one of receive or request from the first verification resource, or the first verification resource is also operative to send to the second verification resource at least one of:

a signature for spending an output of the at least one blockchain transaction;

a transfer value; or

a public key address.

7. A blockchain implemented method of Simplified Payment Verification to facilitate a transfer of an asset on or over a blockchain that is maintained by a blockchain network between a first verification resource of a transferor and a second verification resource of a transferee, the method comprising:

receiving, at a second verification resource:

i) a payment transaction (Tx 3 ) that comprises an output that transfers the asset to the transferee;

ii) complete transaction data relating to at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) that comprises an unspent output that is spendable by an input of the payment transaction (Tx 3 ), and

iii) the complete Merkle path of the at least one blockchain transaction;

wherein the complete transaction data and the complete Merkle path of the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) are received from the first verification resource which stores the complete transaction data and the complete Merkle path for the at least one transaction (Tx 1 );

and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

using the complete transaction data and the complete Merkle path for the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ) to provide a Merkle proof for the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ), and use the Merkle proof to verify, at the second verification resource and without interaction with the blockchain network, that the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) has been processed by the blockchain network and mined into a block on the blockchain; and

sending the payment transaction (Tx 3 ) to the blockchain network upon successful verification of the Merkle proof, to transfer the asset from the transferor to the transferee.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the following steps are performed off-chain:

i) verification of the Merkle proof; and/or

ii) receiving or requesting the complete transaction data and Merkle path of the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ) from the first verification resource.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein

the first and/or second verification resources are or comprise at least one of a smart card, digital wallet, a lightweight wallet, or SPV wallet.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by a processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform the steps of:

receiving, at a second verification resource of an asset transferee:

i) data relating to a payment transaction (Tx 3 ) that comprises an output that transfers the asset to the transferee on or over a blockchain that is maintained by a blockchain network;

ii) complete transaction data relating to at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) that comprises an unspent output that is spendable by an input of the payment transaction (Tx 3 ), and

iii) the complete Merkle path of the at least one blockchain transaction;

wherein the transaction data and the complete Merkle path of the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ) are received from a first verification resource of an asset transferor which stores the transaction data and the complete Merkle path of the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ); and;

using the complete Merkle path and the complete transaction data of the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ) to provide a Merkle proof for the at least one blockchain transaction, and verifying, at the second verification resource and without interaction with the blockchain network, that the at least one blockchain transaction (Tx 1 ) has been processed by the blockchain network and mined into a block on the blockchain; and

sending a further transaction (Tx 3 ) to the blockchain upon successful verification of the Merkle proof, the payment transaction to transfer the asset from the transferor to the transferee over the blockchain network.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the following steps are performed off-chain:

i) verification of the Merkle proof; and/or

ii) receiving or requesting the complete transaction data and complete Merkle path of the at least one transaction (Tx 1 ) from the first verification resource.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein

the first and/or second verification resources are or comprise at least one of a smart card, digital wallet, a lightweight wallet, or SPV wallet.

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (5)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (39)