Granted Patent B2

US 12,499,424 · App. 18/087,796 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Inventors: Craig Steven Wright (London, GB); Stephane Savanah (London, GB)

Assignee: NCHAIN LICENSING AG

G06Q20/065G06F16/1834G06F16/27G06Q20/3829H04L9/0643H04L9/321H04L9/3234H04L9/3239H04L9/3247H04L9/50H04L2209/56

Abstract

Claims (98)

1 . A computer-implemented method of performing an exchange of entities between a first user and a second user, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first user, a first invitation comprising an indication of two or more entities to be exchanged;

generating a first redeem script comprising a first set of metadata, wherein the first set of metadata comprises an indication of the entities to be exchanged and a pointer to a contract associated with an entity to be exchanged;

hashing the first redeem script to generate a first redeem script hash;

sending, over a first network, the first redeem script and the first redeem script hash;

publishing the first redeem script and the first redeem script hash on a distributed hash table (DHT); and

generating a first invitation transaction (Tx) comprising an output (UTXO) associated with:

i) an encrypted, electronically transferrable digital asset; and

ii) the first redeem script hash comprising:

a first set of metadata comprising:

an indication of entities to be exchanged; and

a first set of conditions for the exchange; and

a public cryptographic key (P1A) associated with the first user.

2 . The computer-implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein receiving, from a first user, a first invitation comprising an indication of two or more entities to be exchanged comprises:

receiving, from a first user, a first invitation to perform the exchange, the first invitation comprising the first set of metadata associated with the invitation, wherein the first set of metadata comprises an indication of entities to be exchanged and a first set of conditions for the exchange; and

the first script further comprises:

the first set of metadata;

a first user public key (P1A) associated with the first user, wherein the first user public key (P1A) is a cryptographic pair with a first user private key (V1A); and

a first third-party public key (PIT) associated with a first third-party, wherein the first third-party public key (PIT) is a cryptographic pair with a first third-party private key (VIT).

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, over a communications network, a second invitation to perform the exchange from a second user, the second invitation comprising a second set of metadata associated with the invitation, wherein the second set of metadata comprises the indication of entities to be exchanged and a second set of conditions for the exchange, one or more of the second set of conditions matching one or more of the first set of conditions;

generating a second script, the second script comprising:

the second set of metadata;

a second user public key (P2A) associated with the second user, wherein the second user public key (P2A) is a cryptographic pair with a second user private key (V2A); and

a second third-party public key (P2T) associated with a second third-party, wherein the second third-party public key (P2T) is a cryptographic pair with a second third-party private key (V2T);

hashing the second script to generate a second script hash; and

broadcasting, on the second network, a second invitation transaction for inclusion on a peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed ledger, the second invitation transaction comprising an indication of a second quantity of an encrypted, electronically transferrable digital asset to be transferred and the second script hash.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

sending, on a third network, the second script and the second script hash, wherein the first network and the third network are the same network, and wherein the sending on the third network comprises publishing the second script and the second script hash on the DHT.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a first exchange transaction configured for inclusion on a P2P distributed ledger, the first exchange transaction comprising:

the script;

a first user private key (V1A);

a first third-party private key (PIT);

a first input provided from an output of the first invitation transaction; and

a first output indicating a first quantity of a first entity to be transferred to a second user; and

broadcasting, on a second network, the first exchange transaction.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising:

generating a second exchange transaction configured for inclusion on the P2P distributed ledger, the second exchange comprising:

a second script;

a second user private key (V2A);

a second third-party private key (P2T);

a second input provided from an output of a second invitation transaction; and

a second output indicating a second quantity of a second entity to be transferred to the first user; and

broadcasting, on the second network, the second exchange transaction.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

generating a first exchange transaction configured for inclusion on the P2P distributed ledger, the first exchange transaction comprising:

the script;

a first user private key (V1A);

a first third-party private key (PIT);

the second script;

the second user private key (V2A);

the second third-party private key (P2T);

a first input provided from an output of the first invitation transaction;

a second input provided from an output of the second invitation transaction;

a first output indicating a first quantity of a first entity to be transferred to the second user; and

a second output indicating a second quantity of a second entity to be transferred to the first user; and

broadcasting, on the second network, the first exchange transaction.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein generating the first exchange transaction comprises:

sending the first script to the first user for signing with the first user private key (VIA);

receiving the first script from the first user signed with the first user private key (VIA);

sending the first script signed for signing with the first third-party private key (P1 T); and

receiving the first script from the first third-party signed with the first third-party private key (P1T).

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein generating the first exchange transaction comprises:

sending the first script to the second user for signing with a second user private key (V2A);

receiving the first script from the second user signed with the second user private key (VIA);

sending the first script to a second third-party for signing with the second third-party private key (P2T); and

receiving the first script from the second third-party signed by the second third-party private key (P2T).

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein generating the second exchange transaction comprises:

sending the second script to the second user for signing with the second user private key (VIA);

receiving the second script from the second user signed with the second user private key (VIA);

sending the second script to the second third-party for signing with the second third-party private key (P2T); and

receiving the second script from the second third-party signed with the second third-party private key (P2T).

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising sending a prompt to one or more of the first and second users to accept an exchange before generating or broadcasting the first and/or the second exchange transactions.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the sending over the first network comprises sending the first script and the first script hash to the second user.

13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the P2P distributed ledger is the Bitcoin block chain.

14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the first third-party is an escrow service provider or a token issuer and/or a second third-party is an escrow service provider or a token issuer.

15 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:

sending a request to the first third-party for the first third-party public key; and

receiving the first third-party public key from the first third-party.

16 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:

sending a request to the second third-party for the second third-party public key; and

receiving the second third-party public key from the second third-party.

17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein one or more of the first invitation transaction and the second invitation transaction is a pay-to-script-hash (P2SH) transaction.

18 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second set of metadata is provided in a redeem script.

19 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second set of metadata is provided in the script at a location that is designated in a blockchain protocol as a location for a cryptographic key.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, are operable to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first user, a first invitation comprising an indication of two or more entities to be exchanged;

generating a first redeem script comprising a first set of metadata, wherein the first set of metadata comprises an indication of the entities to be exchanged and a pointer to a contract associated with an entity to be exchanged;

hashing the first redeem script to generate a first redeem script hash;

sending, over a first network, the first redeem script and the first redeem script hash to publish the first redeem script and the first redeem script hash on a distributed hash table (DHT); and

generating a first invitation transaction (Tx) comprising an output (UTXO) associated with:

i) an encrypted, electronically transferrable digital asset; and

ii) the first redeem script hash comprising:

a first set of metadata comprising:

an indication of entities to be exchanged; and

a first set of conditions for the exchange; and

a public cryptographic key (P1A) associated with the first user.

Assignments (3)

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)

Cited By (1)

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