nChain as a business is here to help enable the bitcoin community because nChain believes that when the entire Bitcoin community grows, if some of the innovations which nChain is able to put out, you can grow your businesses, you can do more on the Bitcoin network. The value of Bitcoin itself will grow.
Key Innovations
- deterministic key generation technique
- secure split key technique
- agent-based turing compete transactions (off-chain)
- secure voting regime
- registry & automated management method for blockchain-enforced smart contracts
- drm: securing computer software using a distributed hash table and a blockchain
- drm: blockchain-implemented method for control and distribution of digital content
- Deterministic Key Generation
Invention
Enables secure communication between a pair of nodes or parties on a network, without need to store the common secret.
Common secret is separately determined by each party on the basis of a shared message.
Benefit
Increased security for all digital wallets (for bitcoin or for all digital assets)
- Secure Split Key
Invention
Technique to split cryptographic key into a plurality of shares, each stored and controlled separately. Key can be restored or regenerated from 2 or more of those shares.
Benefit
Avoids security risk of user storing private key or trusting third party to store it.
- Agent based Turing complete transactions
Invention
Allows blockchain to act as the tape within a universal Turing machine.
Method for using a series of external, off-chain computing agents to perform a complex computing task, and coordinate progress using transactions recorded on the blockchain.
Benefit
Opens up capability for performing traditional computer functions using the blockchain - and with security existing bitcoin scripting language (low level primitives)
- Secure Voting Regime
Invention
Computational flexibility from prior patent application can be used to operate secure voting regimes.
Ability to securely track ballots (that represent by public keys) allowing the agent to track the votes through monitoring when these keys are used to submit a user’s ballot.
Benefit
More efficient, secure voting .
Allows cut-offs after which a vote is no longer valid that can be restricted either by the block height or the time.
- Registry & Automated Management Method for Blockchain-Enforced Smart Contracts
Invention
Enables businesses to maintain smart contracts against blockchains.
Provides a cryptographically-protected mechanism to create smart contracts that:
(1) renew an existing contract;
(2) automatically roll or renew a contract upon expiration date
Benefit
More efficient and automated management of auto-renewing contracts - no need for trusted third party
(standalone database provider for customer and license information)
- Digital Rights Management
(content with executable phase)
Invention
Works with any content with executable phase (computer software, music, video, PDF files).
Technique to check, via a blockchain lookup that:
- the accessing resource has a licence for the content
- the licence remains valid
Expands upon Deterministic Key Generation technique - allows the software to determine the licence key deterministically without having to use an alternative data source.
Benefit
More efficiency and flexibility for rights holders to distribute digital content.
- Digital Rights Management
(series of content)
Invention
Blockchain controlled distribution of series of episodic streamed content
(not just individual files with executable phase)
Allows rights holders to make an entire series available but allow consumer to only pay for episodes they choose to watch.
Benefit
Automated distribution of episodic streamed content - without need for an executable phase in the file
Source: Thank you, nChain (Hongkong 2017 )
