IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,677,542
Granted Patent B2
US 11,677,542 · App. 15/982,829 · Granted Jun 13, 2023

Ad-hoc smart contract generation in a blockchain

Inventors: Garfield Vaughn (Southbury, CT); Tetiana Iakovenko (Brooklyn, NY); Marcelo A. Martins (Markham, CA); Nitin Gaur (Roundrock, TX); Rolando Franco (New York, NY)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
H04L9/0637G06F21/602H04L9/3265
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,677,542
App. No.
15/982,829
Granted
Jun 13, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

An example operation may include one or more of identifying blockchain transactions for a particular blockchain, identifying blockchain transaction metrics from the blockchain transactions, determining whether the blockchain transaction metrics require a change to current blockchain operating rules, and when the blockchain transaction metrics require the change to the current blockchain operating rules, modifying the current blockchain operating rules.

Claims (83)

1. A method, comprising:

identifying, via a hardware-implemented smart contract generator, a plurality of blockchain transactions of a blockchain;

collecting, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, one or more blockchain transaction metrics from the plurality of blockchain transactions;

identifying, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, relationships between members of the blockchain based on the one or more blockchain transaction metrics, wherein the relationships includes two or more different types of relationships, each having different blockchain operating rules, wherein the types of relationships are: an explicit relationship, a linear relationship, a nonlinear relationship, and a proportional relationship;

prioritizing, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, the relationships based on the type of relationship;

determining, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics require a change to one or more current blockchain operating rules of a smart contract stored in the blockchain based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to a baseline generated by the smart contract generator;

modifying, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, the one or more current blockchain operating rules without changing a current consensus mechanism, wherein the modifying is based on the determining and on the prioritized relationships to generate modified blockchain operating rules; and

storing, via the hardware-implemented smart contract generator, a modified smart contract, including the modified blockchain operating rules, on the blockchain.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the modifying the one or more current blockchain operating rules comprises:

creating a new smart contract; and

sending the new smart contract with the modified one or more current blockchain operating rules to the blockchain.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more blockchain transactions metrics comprise:

one or more of a majority party to the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a size of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a frequency over a defined period of time of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a number of the plurality of blockchain transactions, a newly identified party, not previously identified, to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions, and

an established prioritized party to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying a plurality of blockchain transactions for a particular blockchain comprises:

identifying the plurality of blockchain transactions over a defined period of time.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a new member has joined the blockchain network; and

responsive to identifying the new member has joined the blockchain network, collecting the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying that an existing member has quit the blockchain network; and

responsive to identifying the existing member has quit the blockchain network, collecting the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics require a change to one or more current blockchain operating rules further comprises:

determining that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics exceed the one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds.

8. A smart contract generator, apparatus comprising:

a hardware-implemented processor configured to:

identify a plurality of blockchain transactions for a particular blockchain;

collect one or more blockchain transaction metrics from the plurality of blockchain transactions;

identify relationships between members of the blockchain based on the one or more blockchain transaction metrics, wherein the relationships includes two or more different types of relationships, each having different blockchain operating rules, wherein the types of relationships are: an explicit relationship, a linear relationship, a nonlinear relationship, and a proportional relationship;

prioritize the relationships based on the type of relationship;

determine that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics require a change to one or more current blockchain operating rules of a smart contract stored in the blockchain based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to a baseline generated by the smart contract generator;

modify the one or more current blockchain operating rules without changing a current consensus mechanism, wherein the modification is based on the determination and on the prioritized relationships to generate modified blockchain operating rules; and

store a modified smart contract, including the modified blockchain operating rules, on the blockchain.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor being configured to modify the one or more current blockchain operating rules further comprises the processor being configured to:

create a new smart contract; and

send the new smart contract with the modified one or more current blockchain operating rules to the blockchain.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the one or more blockchain transactions metrics comprise:

one or more of a majority party to the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a size of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a frequency over a defined period of time of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a number of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a newly identified party, not previously identified, to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions, and

an established prioritized party to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor being configured to identify a plurality of blockchain transactions for a particular blockchain further comprises the processor being configured to:

identify the plurality of blockchain transactions over a defined period of time.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify a new member has joined the blockchain network; and

responsive to the new member being identified as having joined the blockchain network, collect the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify an existing member has quit the blockchain network; and

responsive to the existing member being identified as having quit the blockchain network, collect the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor being configured to determine that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics require a change to one or more current blockchain operating rules further comprises via the processor being configured to:

determine that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics exceed the one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium of a smart contract generator, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium being configured to store one or more instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform:

identifying a plurality of blockchain transactions of a blockchain;

collecting one or more blockchain transaction metrics from the plurality of blockchain transactions;

identifying relationships between members of the blockchain based on the one or more blockchain transaction metrics, wherein the relationships includes two or more different types of relationships, each having different blockchain operating rules, wherein the types of relationships are: an explicit relationship, a linear relationship, a nonlinear relationship, and a proportional relationship;

prioritizing the relationships based on the type of relationship;

determining that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics require a change to one or more current blockchain operating rules of a smart contract stored in the blockchain based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to a baseline generated by the smart contract generator;

modifying the one or more current blockchain operating rules without changing a current consensus mechanism, wherein the modifying is based on the determining and on the prioritized relationships to generate modified blockchain operating rules; and

storing a modified smart contract, including the modified blockchain operating rules, on the blockchain.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the modifying the one or more current blockchain operating rules comprises:

creating a new smart contract; and

sending the new smart contract with the modified one or more current blockchain operating rules to the blockchain.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more blockchain transactions metrics comprise:

one or more of a majority party to the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a size of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a frequency over a defined period of time of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a number of the plurality of blockchain transactions,

a newly identified party, not previously identified, to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions, and

an established prioritized party to one or more of the plurality of blockchain transactions.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the identifying a plurality of blockchain transactions for a particular blockchain comprises:

identifying the plurality of blockchain transactions over a defined period of time.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform:

identifying a new member has joined the blockchain network; and

responsive to identifying the new member has joined the blockchain network, collecting the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform:

identifying an existing member has quit the blockchain network; and

responsive to identifying the existing member has quit the blockchain network, collecting the identified one or more blockchain transaction metrics, and

determining that the one or more blockchain transaction metrics exceed the one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds based on a comparison of the one or more blockchain transaction metrics to one or more blockchain operating rule thresholds.

Assignments (2)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE CONVEYING PARTY PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 045838 FRAME: 0345. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Jan 2, 2019
From: VAUGHN, GARFIELD; IAKOVENKO, TETIANA; MARTINS, MARCELO A.; GAUR, NITIN; FRANCO, ROLANDO
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 048000/0922 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 17, 2018
From: VAUGHN, GARFIELD; IAKOVENKO, TETIANA; MARTINS, MARCELO A.; GAUR, NITIN
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 045838/0345 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20190356471A1 · Nov 21, 2019