Granted Patent B2

US 12,348,648 · App. 18/649,846 · Granted Jul 1, 2025

Inventors: Craig Steven Wright (London, GB); Owen Vaughan (London, GB); Jack Owen Davies (London, GB); Chloe Ceren Tartan (London, GB)

Assignee: NCHAIN LICENSING AG

H04L9/3247G06F16/2379G06F21/6218G06Q20/38215G06Q20/3827G06Q20/3829H04L9/08H04L9/0825H04L9/0836H04L9/30H04L9/3033H04L9/3073H04L9/3239H04L9/3242H04L9/3249H04L9/50H04L2209/56

Abstract

Claims (66)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising a step of:

providing or using a plurality of blockchain transactions in a logical hierarchy such that a portion of data provided or referenced in at least one further transaction in a lower level of the logical hierarchy can be accessed or identified by comparison with a discretionary public key (DPK) used to sign a first transaction in a higher level of the logical hierarchy;

and wherein:

the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction in a lower level of the hierarchy comprises:

a transaction ID (TxID);

a protocol flag;

the discretionary public key (DPK); and

a discretionary transaction ID (DTxID).

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , and further comprising a step of storing and/or maintaining a mapping between the discretionary public key (DPK) used to sign the first transaction and the level in the hierarchy where the type of data provided or referenced by the at least one further transaction in a lower level of the logical hierarchy is stored.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction comprises a unique index comprising:

a concatenation of the discretionary public key (DPK) and the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID);

a hash of the discretionary public key (DPK) and the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID); and/or

a hash of a concatenation of the discretionary public key (DPK) and the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID).

4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the portion of data or reference to the portion of data, the protocol flag, the discretionary public key (DPK) and/or the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID) are provided within an output (UTXO) of the first or at least one further transaction.

5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the portion of data, reference to the portion of data, the protocol flag, the discretionary public key (DPK) and/or the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID) are provided within the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction at a location following a script opcode for marking an output as invalid for subsequent use as an input to a subsequent transaction.

6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 and comprising the step of:

recording and storing, in a mapping, the relationship between portions of data in the logical hierarchy and the level that types of portions of data are stored at.

7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction comprises one or more attributes.

8. The computer-implemented method according to claim 7 , wherein:

the one or more attributes comprises a keyword, tag, or identifier associated with:

i) a portion of data provided within or referenced within the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction; and/or

ii) the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction.

9. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction further comprises an input including:

a parent public key (PPK) associated with a logical parent transaction (LPTx), wherein the logical parent transaction (LPTx) is identified by the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID); and

a signature generated using the parent public key (PPK).

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , and further comprising a step of using the discretionary public key (DPK) and the transaction ID (TxID) to identify the first transaction, the at least one further transaction and/or the logical parent transaction within a blockchain.

11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the logical hierarchy is implemented over a peer-to-peer, decentralised blockchain.

12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the method is implemented over a blockchain and a blockchain protocol, and wherein:

the transaction ID (TxID) is an identifier for the first and/or at least one further transaction that is an essential, required, and non-discretionary part of the blockchain protocol;

the protocol flag indicates that the transaction is formed in accordance with a protocol other than the blockchain protocol, preferably that it is formed in accordance with a protocol for searching for, storing in and/or retrieving data in one or more blockchain transactions; and

the discretionary public key (DPK) and the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID) are not dictated or required by the blockchain protocol.

13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 4 , wherein the portion of data or reference to the portion of data, the protocol flag, the discretionary public key (DPK) and/or the discretionary transaction ID (DTxID) are provided within a locking script associated with the output (UTXO).

14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 6 and comprising the step of:

accessing the portion of data by referencing the mapping to obtain an indication of the level at which the data type of the portion of data is stored.

15. The computer-implemented method according to claim 11 , wherein the peer-to-peer, decentralised blockchain is a Bitcoin blockchain.

16. A computer-implemented method including a step of:

using a first blockchain transaction to provide or prohibit access to a portion of data provided or referenced in at least one further transaction in a lower level in a logical hierarchy of blockchain transactions based on a discretionary public key (DPK) used to sign the first blockchain transaction;

and wherein:

the first blockchain transaction and/or at least one further transaction in a lower level of the hierarchy comprises:

a transaction ID (TxID);

a protocol flag;

the discretionary public key (DPK); and

a discretionary transaction ID (DTxID).

17. The computer-implemented method according to claim 16 , wherein:

the first blockchain transaction and/or at least one further transaction comprises one or more attributes, and wherein the one or more attributes comprises a keyword, tag or identifier associated with:

i) a portion of data provided within or referenced within the first blockchain transaction and/or at least one further transaction; and/or

ii) the first blockchain transaction and/or at least one further transaction.

18. The computer-implemented method according to claim 16 further comprising a step of using the discretionary public key (DPK) and the transaction ID (TxID) to identify the first blockchain transaction, the at least one further transaction and/or the logical parent transaction within a blockchain.

19. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a processor; and

memory including executable instructions that, as a result of execution by the processor, causes the system to perform a method of providing or using a plurality of blockchain transactions in a logical hierarchy such that a portion of data provided or referenced in at least one further transaction in a lower level of the logical hierarchy can be accessed or identified by comparison with a discretionary public key (DPK) used to sign a first transaction in a higher level of the logical hierarchy;

and wherein:

the first transaction and/or at least one further transaction in a lower level of the hierarchy comprises:

a transaction ID (TxID);

a protocol flag;

the discretionary public key (DPK); and

a discretionary transaction ID (DTxID).

20. The computer-implemented system according to claim 19 , and further comprising at least one of:

a cryptocurrency wallet;

a browser component;

a blockchain explorer;

a search engine;

a display window arranged to unpack content returned to a browser by a blockchain peer, wherein unpacking the content includes decryption, recombination, caching, and redemption of access tokens; and/or

an access key or token wallet arranged for dedicated ley management for access keys or tokens.

Assignments (9)

Priority Claims (7)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (217)