IP Library Granted Patent US 11,876,887
Granted Patent B2
US 11,876,887 · App. 17/827,168 · Granted Jan 16, 2024

Rapid distributed consensus on blockchain

Inventors: John Fletcher (London, GB); Thomas Trevethan (London, GB); Marco Bardoscia (London, GB)
Assignee: nChain Licensing AG
H04L9/0618G06F21/64G06Q20/065G06Q20/36G06Q20/389G06Q20/3829H04L9/0637H04L9/0825H04L9/0833H04L9/3239H04L9/3247H04L9/3252H04L9/3255G06Q2220/00H04L9/50H04L2209/463H04L2209/56
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,876,887
App. No.
17/827,168
Granted
Jan 16, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

There may be provided a computer-implemented method. It may be implemented using a blockchain such as, for example, the Bitcoin blockchain. The computer-implemented method includes: i) joining a congress by transferring, by a node operating in a proof-of-work blockchain network, one or more digital assets to a congress pool having one or more other digital assets associated with other members of a congress; ii) detecting, by the node, a special transaction of digital assets on the proof-of-work blockchain network to an address associated with the congress pool, the special transaction satisfying determined criteria; and iii) minting, by the node, one or more digital assets on a proof-of-stake blockchain network in response to detecting the special transaction.

Claims (23)

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a requester node for issuing a request on a blockchain, the method comprising:

joining, by the requester node, a group through transfer of tokens to a public group address to become a group member, the group being associated with a threshold signature scheme for which the node controls a private key share, the transfer of tokens being made on a proof-of-work blockchain network;

issuing a request to the group to complete a work product;

receiving a proposal of the work product from a proposer node of the group;

constructing a transaction in response to receiving the proposal;

obtaining a solution to the work product, determining that no challenge has been proposed to the solution; and

committing the transaction to the blockchain.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the request is a computation exchange which allows nodes to offload computations or performance of algorithms to other nodes.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the proposer node completes the task off-chain.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the proposer sends their public key for the blockchain network to the requester node to submit the proposal.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the proposer commits the solution to a task in the form of a hash of the solution.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the requester receives the proposer's public key and the hash of the solution.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction includes bounty as input and a proposer deposit as output, wherein the transaction is signed by the requester to allow a proposer to add their own input.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction is constructed to be unlocked after an expiration of a challenge period.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction is constructed to be unlocked with a group signature at any time.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising a challenge period during which any node can challenge the proposal submitted by the proposer.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein if no challenge is issued during the challenge period, the proposer claims a bounty and proposer deposit from the transaction.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the proposer provides the solution to the requester by embedding the solution in a transaction on a main blockchain network.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed, configure a processor to perform the method of claim 1 .

14. An electronic device comprising:

an interface device;

a processor coupled to the interface device; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer executable instructions which, when executed, configure the processor to perform the method of claim 1 .

Assignments (4)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 9, 2023
From: FLETCHER, JOHN; BARDOSCIA, MARCO; TREVETHAN, THOMAS
To: NCHAIN HOLDINGS LTD
Reel/Frame 065534/0426 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 27, 2022
From: FLETCHER, JOHN; TREVETHAN, THOMAS; BARDOSCIA, MARCO
To: NCHAIN HOLDINGS LTD.
Reel/Frame 060042/0120 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 27, 2022
From: FLETCHER, JOHN; TREVETHAN, THOMAS; BARDOSCIA, MARCO
To: NCHAIN HOLDINGS LTD.
Reel/Frame 060042/0221 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded May 27, 2022
From: NCHAIN HOLDINGS LTD
To: NCHAIN LICENSING AG
Reel/Frame 060206/0249 →
Priority Claims (3)
GB 1705867 · Apr 11, 2017 · national
GB 1705868 · Apr 11, 2017 · national
GB 1705869 · Apr 11, 2017 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 16604959
Related Publication 20220366401A1 · Nov 17, 2022