IP Library Granted Patent US 11,501,297
Granted Patent B1
US 11,501,297 · App. 17/722,118 · Granted Nov 15, 2022

Blockchain agnostic token network

Inventors: Ryan Tai (Menlo Park, CA); Madeeha Ghori (Fremont, CA); Daniel Barrett (Kirkwood, MO)
Assignee: Block, Inc.
G06Q20/401G06Q20/20G06Q2220/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,501,297
App. No.
17/722,118
Granted
Nov 15, 2022
Kind
B1
Abstract

A blockchain agnostic token network is described. In an example, a request to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) minted on a blockchain from a seller is received. Based at least in part on context data associated with at least one of the user, the seller, or a digital asset associated with the NFT, a plurality of available blockchains is determined for holding the NFT. Information associated with the plurality of blockchains is surfaced and one of the plurality of blockchains is determined for holding the NFT. Based at least in part on the determined blockchain, the NFT is transferred to the determined blockchain and associated with a user account for subsequent viewing.

Claims (53)

1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device of a payment service, comprising:

receiving, via a user interface of a payment application provided by the payment service and executing on a computing device of a first user, a request to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) minted on a blockchain from a second user;

determining, based at least in part on context data associated with at least one of the first user, the second user, or a digital asset associated with the NFT, a plurality of blockchains available for holding the NFT;

surfacing, via the user interface, a plurality of transaction costs associated with holding the NFT on the plurality of blockchains;

receiving, via the user interface, a selection of one of the plurality of blockchains, wherein the selected blockchain is different than the blockchain on which the NFT is minted;

transferring, based at least in part on the selection, the NFT to the selected blockchain; and

associating the NFT with a user account, wherein the NFT is viewable on the selected blockchain via the user interface and further transferable to any of the plurality of blockchains via the payment service.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second user is at least one of a merchant or a third-party and the transaction is completed within a point-of-sale system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction is a peer-to-peer transaction.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of transaction costs are surfaced in fiat currency, the method further comprising:

receiving fiat currency from the user for transaction costs associated with the selected blockchain; and

converting the received fiat currency into cryptocurrency for use in transferring the NFT.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the context data is at least one of preference data, social connection data, expiration time, transaction data, or a list, determined by the payment service, of suitable blockchains for holding the NFT.

6. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device of a payment service, comprising:

receiving, via a user interface of an application provided by the payment service and executing on a computing device of a user, a request to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) from a seller;

determining, based at least in part based at least in part on context data associated with at least one of the user, the seller, or a digital asset associated with the NFT, a blockchain of a plurality of blockchains for transferring the NFT;

based at least in part on a determination that the determined blockchain is different than a current blockchain on which the NFT is minted, transferring the NFT to the determined blockchain;

associating the NFT, held on the determined blockchain, with an account designated by the user; and

processing payment associated with the transfer via the payment service upon completion of the transfer of the NFT.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises:

determining the plurality of blockchains available for transferring the NFT based at least in part on the context data;

surfacing, via the user interface, the plurality of blockchains available for transferring the NFT and information associated with each of the plurality of blockchains;

receiving a selection of the determined blockchain, wherein the determined blockchain is determined based at least in part on the selection; and

collecting payment for the NFT and associated costs for minting to the determined blockchain prior to transferring the NFT to the determined blockchain.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises determining the determined blockchain automatically without input from the user.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determined blockchain is determined based at least in part upon an output generated by one or more machine learning models operated by the payment service.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the context data is analyzed by the one or more machine learning models to make the determination.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the seller is a second user and processing the payment comprises withdrawing funds from an account of the user to transfer to an account of the second user.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein an amount of the withdrawn funds is based at least in part on one or more of:

a fee associated with transferring the NFT to the user;

a royalty fee to a creator associated with an NFT; and

a fee to the second user.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the seller is a merchant and processing the payment comprises withdrawing funds from an account of the user to transfer to an account of the merchant.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein an amount of the withdrawn funds is based at least in part on one or more of:

a fee associated with transferring the NFT to the user;

a royalty fee to a creator associated with an NFT; and

a fee to the merchant.

15. The method of claim 6 , wherein creating the plurality of NFTs for purchase includes:

adding a description, cost, and asset;

selecting an optimal blockchain to mint the NFT on; and

minting the NFT on the optimal blockchain.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the selection of an optimal blockchain is performed by the payment service automatically.

17. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method further includes adding the transferred NFTs to an inventory system of the seller.

18. The method of claim 6 , wherein the request to purchase is initiated by any of: accessing an address associated with a presented hyperlink, a user interacting with an e-commerce site, a user making a purchase in a physical storefront, or interacting with a social network or third party web site.

19. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

minting the NFT to multiple blockchains of the plurality of blockchains;

providing the user with an ability to transfer ownership of the NFT to any of the multiple blockchains; and

collecting a fee to cover a cost of transferring ownership between the multiple blockchains.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process of transferring a non-fungible token (NFT), the process comprising:

receiving, via a user interface of a payment application provided by a payment service and executing on a computing device of a user, a request to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) minted on a blockchain from a seller, wherein the seller comprises a merchant, another user, or a third-party;

determining, based at least in part on context data associated with at least one of the user, the seller, or a digital asset associated with the NFT, a blockchain for holding the NFT, wherein the determined blockchain is different than the blockchain on which the NFT is minted;

minting the NFT on the determined blockchain; and

associating the NFT with a user account, wherein the NFT is viewable on the determined blockchain via the user interface.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 21, 2022
From: TAI, RYAN; GHORI, MADEEHA; BARRETT, DANIEL
To: BLOCK, INC.
Reel/Frame 059669/0365 →
Cited By (14)
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