Computer-implemented systems and methods for storing data on a blockchain

Abstract

A method for storing data on a blockchain is disclosed. The method includes generating a plurality of blockchain transactions, wherein the plurality of blockchain transactions each store therein respective portions of first data to be stored on the blockchain (<content chunk 1>, <content chunk 2>) and second data (<metanet flag>) indicating that the portions of the first data are related to each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to improved cryptographic techniques for communicating and exchanging data across electronic networks, particularly peer-to-peer networks such as blockchain networks. It relates to data storage, access, retrieval, and processing, and in particular to such data-related activities on blockchains. The present invention is particularly well-suited for, but not limited to, data processing in a manner similar to that provided by websites and web pages, but utilizing blockchains as the underlying mechanism or platform rather than web servers. Thus, the present invention provides a secure, efficient, cryptographically implemented alternative infrastructure for data processing and transmission. Background Art

[0002] In this document, we use the term "blockchain" to include all forms of electronic, computer-based distributed ledgers. This includes consensus-based blockchains and transaction chain technologies, permissioned and permissionless ledgers, shared ledgers, and their variations. It should be noted that alternative blockchain implementations and protocols fall within the scope of this invention. The term "user" in this document can refer to a person or a processor-based resource.

[0003] A blockchain is a peer-to-peer electronic ledger implemented as a decentralized, distributed computer system composed of blocks, which in turn are composed of transactions. Each transaction is a data structure that encodes the transfer of control of digital assets between participants in the blockchain system and includes at least one input and at least one output. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, allowing blocks to be linked together to create a permanent, unchangeable record of all transactions written to the blockchain since its inception. Transactions contain small programs called scripts embedded in their inputs and outputs that specify how and by whom the transaction's outputs can be accessed.

[0004] In order for a transaction to be written to the blockchain, it must be "validated." Network nodes perform work to ensure that each transaction is valid, and invalid transactions are rejected by the network. The software client installed on the node performs this validation work for unspent transactions (UTXOs) by executing their locking and unlocking scripts. If the execution of the locking and unlocking scripts evaluates to true (TRUE), the transaction is valid and written to the blockchain. Therefore, in order for a transaction to be written to the blockchain, it must: i) be validated by the first node that receives the transaction – if the transaction is validated, the node relays it to other nodes in the network; ii) be added to a new block; and iii) be mined, that is, added to the public ledger of past transactions.

[0005] Digital entrepreneurs have begun exploring the use of cryptographically secure systems and data stored on blockchains to implement new systems. It would be highly advantageous if blockchains could be used for tasks and processes. Such solutions would leverage the benefits of blockchains (e.g., permanent, tamper-proof records of events, distributed processing), while offering greater versatility in their applications.

[0006] One such area of ​​interest is using blockchain to store, share, access, and control data between users. Today, this is achieved via the internet, where servers host websites and pages that users typically access through search engines to access the data they need.

[0007] However, some observers have begun to envision blockchains as solutions to some of the internet's shortcomings, such as the centralized control of large amounts of data and content by centralized parties. See, for example, "Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy," by George Gilder, Gateway Editions, July 2018, ISBN-10: 9781621575764 and ISBN-13: 978-1621575764. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Therefore, it is desirable to provide an arrangement that enables such data to be stored, processed, retrieved, searched, and / or shared on a blockchain, advantageously utilizing the distributed, immutable, distributed, and permanent nature of the blockchain. Such an improved scheme has now been devised.

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide at least alternative, efficient, and secure technologies for implementing blockchain solutions and for storing, processing, searching, and / or retrieving data on or from them. Embodiments also provide at least an alternative blockchain-implemented technical infrastructure for storing, processing, retrieving, transmitting, searching, and / or sharing data between computing nodes. Because the present invention enables blockchain networks to be used in new ways and to provide improved technical results, the present invention provides an improved blockchain-implemented network.

[0010] Embodiments also provide solutions for securely controlling access to digital resources on a technologically different and improved computing platform that includes a blockchain and a blockchain protocol.

[0011] The invention is defined in the appended claims.

[0012] According to the present invention, a computer-implemented method and corresponding system may be provided. The method may be described as a method for enabling or controlling the processing, storage, retrieval, identification, and / or sharing of data via a blockchain. In this context, "sharing" may include providing, sending, communicating, transmitting, or providing access to portions of data to a node or user. The term "processing" may be interpreted to mean any activity related to a transaction or its associated data, including generating, transmitting, verifying, accessing, searching, submitting to a blockchain network, and / or identifying the data.

[0013] The method may include the step of generating a plurality of blockchain transactions, wherein the plurality of blockchain transactions each store therein a respective portion of first data to be stored on a blockchain and second data indicating that the portions of the first data are related to each other.

[0014] By storing respective portions of first data to be stored on the blockchain and second data indicating that the portions of the first data are related to each other in a plurality of blockchain transactions, this provides the following advantages: it enables the storage of large amounts of data on the blockchain, whereby the data is permanently stored in a distributed storage, thereby eliminating the need for the owner of the data to take data recovery measures, while enabling the data to be easily reorganized when necessary.

[0015] A corresponding digital signature may be applied to said portion of said first data.

[0016] This offers the advantage of enabling the first data to be more easily isolated from the second data and to be digitally signed by a third party independently of the second data, thereby making the process more versatile and enabling faster data processing. This also makes the method more protocol independent.

[0017] At least some of said portions of said first data may each be digitally signed by means of a single private key of a public-private key pair of a cryptographic system.

[0018] This provides the advantage of enabling parts of the first data to be easily reassembled, whilst also enabling digital signatures to be used to verify transactions as part of the mining process.

[0019] At least some of the parts of the first data may each be digitally signed by means of a respective private key of a public-private key pair of a cryptographic system, and the private keys may be related to each other.

[0020] At least one of the digital signatures may be based on a cryptographic system having a public-private key pair, wherein the private key is based on a plurality of prime numbers and the corresponding public key is based on a product of a plurality of said prime numbers.

[0021] This provides the advantage of providing a signature scheme that is computationally inexpensive to verify, thereby improving processing efficiency.

[0022] At least one of the digital signatures may be a Rabin signature.

[0023] This provides the advantage that distributors can use Rabin signatures to provide authentication from the original data source. This allows the content itself to be signed by the original author to prove its authenticity.

[0024] The second data may include data related to the reorganization of the first data.

[0025] The first data may be included in a plurality of first inputs and / or first outputs of a plurality of the blockchain transactions.

[0026] By storing the first data in a plurality of first inputs and / or first outputs, this provides the advantage of enabling the density of data storage in a transaction to be maximized.

[0027] At least one second input and / or at least one second output of at least one of the blockchain transactions may include indication data indicating that the transaction includes the first data.

[0028] This provides the advantage of avoiding unnecessary processing of blockchain transactions that do not include the first data, thereby improving processing efficiency.

[0029] The second data may represent at least one attribute of the first data, the at least one attribute being at least one of a data type, a data encryption scheme, a data compression scheme, index information, permission information, encoding information, keyword information, or search information of the first data.

[0030] The first data may be included only in at least one corresponding first output of the plurality of said blockchain transactions.

[0031] This offers the following advantages: It enables transaction validity to be checked as part of the blockchain mining process. Data integrity is ensured by the existing validation process of the underlying blockchain's network nodes. This allows the blockchain to function as a trusted global server where the integrity of stored data is guaranteed by the network nodes, allowing it to be stored and distributed by other parties without the need for trust.

[0032] At least one first output and / or second output of at least one of the blockchain transactions may include a script opcode for marking the output as invalid for subsequent use as an input to a subsequent transaction.

[0033] This provides the advantage of avoiding processing the output as part of the unspent transaction output (UTXO) data, thereby improving processing efficiency. For example, the OP_RETURN operator can also be used to terminate an executable program embedded in the first data.

[0034] The method may further comprise applying data compression to the first data and / or the second data.

[0035] The present invention also provides a system, comprising:

[0036] processor; and

[0037] A memory comprising executable instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to perform any embodiment of the computer-implemented method described herein.

[0038] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions stored thereon, which, upon execution by a processor of a computer system, causes the computer system to perform at least any embodiment of the computer-implemented method described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described herein. Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0040] Figure 1 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown, in which data is stored in multiple outputs;

[0041] Figure 2 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown, in which data is stored in inputs.

[0042] Figure 3 A series of blockchain transactions embodying the present invention is shown, in which data is stored on outputs of multiple blockchain transactions;

[0043] Figure 4 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown, the blockchain transaction transmitting a payment to enable access to data via an atomic swap;

[0044] Figure 5 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown for redeeming Figure 4 Payment of transactions;

[0045] Figure 6shows secret values ​​held by participants in a blockchain transaction embodying the present invention, which issues tokens to allow access to data via atomic swaps;

[0046] Figure 7 and Figure 8 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown for issuing tokens to allow access to data via atomic swaps;

[0047] Figure 9 and Figure 10 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown for exchanging Figure 7 and Figure 8 Tokens issued by transactions;

[0048] Figure 11 and Figure 12 shows the access by Figure 9 and Figure 10 The transaction is exchanged on a secret blockchain transaction;

[0049] Figure 13 An illustration of a metanet graph structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided.

[0050] Figure 14 A diagram of a metanet graph tree for the domain "bobsblog" including a MURL search path is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] Figure 15 A diagram showing an illustrative embodiment of a browser wallet according to one example of the present invention and how its core functionality is split among different components of the application.

[0052] Figure 16 A diagram is provided that illustrates how searching for content is performed within the infrastructure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] Figure 17 An illustrative interaction between a local full replica peer and a global full replica peer is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] Figure 18 A metanet tree (or graph) is shown for use with reference to the illustrative use cases described below.

[0055] Figure 19 A flow chart is shown that illustrates the process embodied by the illustrative use case provided below.

[0056] Figure 20 is a diagram illustrating a computing environment in which various embodiments may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] In the remainder of this document, the protocol that determines the operation of embodiments of the present invention will be referred to as the "metanet protocol."

[0058] According to embodiments of the present invention, the terms "content" and "data" may be used interchangeably herein to refer to data stored in blockchain transactions.

[0059] Overview

[0060] As mentioned above, the need for an improved and / or alternative infrastructure for storing, writing, accessing, and viewing data has been recognized. Using the inherent advantages of blockchain technology (e.g., immutable records, cryptographically enforced control and access, built-in payment mechanisms, the ability to publicly inspect the ledger, etc.) would be advantageous. However, building a "blockchain-enabled internet" is challenging from many technical perspectives.

[0061] These challenges may include, but are not limited to: how to locate specific portions of data within a network; how to protect and control access to data so that only authorized parties can gain access; how to transmit data from one party to another in a point-to-point manner; how to arrange data so that it can be logically associated but still stored in different locations within the network, and how to subsequently combine it from different locations to provide an overall and enhanced result; how to provide and / or store data in a hierarchical manner; how to allow users and parties with different computing platforms to access the required data; how to store, provide, and share data across (potentially global) computing networks without relying on or requiring large storage servers and centralized data controllers, and how to improve the efficiency of such data-related activities on the network.

[0062] The present invention provides this improved approach in a manner that is similar in some respects to the Internet, but achieves its results in a fundamentally different manner, using a platform comprised of entirely different hardware and software components than those known in the prior art. According to embodiments of the present invention, the servers that store internet / network data and provide it to end users are replaced by blockchain exchanges residing on a blockchain network. To achieve this, several innovations were devised, which are described in the following sections.

[0063] Insert data into the blockchain "metanet" for reference Figure 1, shows a blockchain transaction embodying the present invention, in which first data to be stored on the blockchain is stored in one or more first outputs of the transaction, and second data representing attributes of the first data is stored in one or more second outputs of the transaction. One or more first portions of the first data, <content 1>, are stored in the spendable outputs of the transaction. Data, <attribute 1> and <attribute 2>, representing respective attributes of the first data, and a flag indicating that the data is being stored according to the metanet protocol are stored in a second, unspendable output of the transaction. The term "unspendable" is used to indicate that at least one of the first and / or second outputs of the transaction may include a script opcode (OPRETURN) that is used to mark the output as invalid for subsequent use as an input to a subsequent transaction.

[0064] It is advantageous to store the content and attribute parts of the data separately in separate outputs of the transaction.

[0065] Figure 2 A blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown, in which the first data <content 1> to be stored on the blockchain is stored in the input of the transaction. The metanet flag and the attribute data <attribute 1> and <attribute 2> are similar to Figure 1 The arrangement shown is stored in the unspendable output of the transaction.

[0066] Data Insertion

[0067] Data insertion method

[0068] Hopefully the following data can be inserted into the blockchain

[0069] a) Metanet Logo

[0070] b) Attributes

[0071] c) Content

[0072] Content is the data to be stored on the blockchain. The metanet flag is a 4-byte prefix that serves as an identifier for any data related to the metanet protocol. Attributes contain indexing, licensing, and encoding information about the content. This can include, but is not limited to, data type, encryption, and / or compression schemes. These attributes are often also referred to as metadata. To avoid confusion with transaction metadata, this term will be avoided in this document.

[0073] The following techniques can be used to embed this data into blockchain scripts:

[0074] 1. OP_RETURN - In this method, all data (attributes and content) in the locking script of the provably unspendable transaction output is placed after the OP_RETURN.

[0075] An example output script using this operator is as follows:

[0076] UTXO0:OP_RETURN<Metanet Flag> <attributes> <content>

[0077] 2. OP_RETURN with OP_DROP - In this case, the OP_RETURN contains attributes, while the content is stored in the spendable transaction script (locked or unlocked) before the OP_DROP. The content can be split into multiple packets in transaction inputs and outputs. However, it is advantageous to insert the data into the transaction output. If the data is inserted into the transaction input, OP_MOD can be used as a checksum on the data instead of network node verification to ensure its validity. For example, a 32-bit OP_MOD operation can be performed and checked to see if it is equal to a pre-calculated value.

[0078] In this case, the attributes may contain information about how to reassemble the content packets. Additionally, providing the hash of the reassembled packet H(Content 1 + Content 2) as an attribute enables verification that the recommended reassembly scheme has been used.

[0079] Figure 1 A transaction that implements the second data insertion method is shown in . For simplicity, this transaction only includes the content inserted into its output, which is signed by its single input. Figure 2 The method shown here uses the OP_DROP statement to also insert content into another input.

[0080] If the content is large, it may be advantageous to split it over multiple transactions. Figure 3 Shown in. Figure 3 A paired blockchain transaction embodying the present invention is shown, in which a first data item, <content>, to be stored on the blockchain is split into two chunks, <content chunk 1> and <content chunk 2>. These chunks can then be reassembled as <content> = <content chunk 1> || <content chunk 2>, where the operator "||" concatenates the content data of the two chunks. This concatenation operator can be replaced by any desired bitwise or similar piecewise binary operator. The two chunks, <content chunk 1> and <content chunk 2>, are then stored in corresponding spendable outputs of separate blockchain transactions, while data related to attributes of the content data is stored in corresponding unspendable outputs of the blockchain transaction. Again, the attributes can contain information about the reassembly scheme. For example, the content can be raw data, an executable program, or an HTML webpage. Additionally, content 1 can include a pointer to the location of content 2 on the blockchain, which functions in the same manner as an embedded HTML link within a webpage.

[0081] It should be noted that both transactions will take the same public key P (and ECDSA signature) as input, so that although <content chunk1> and <content chunk2> are stored in different transactions with TxID1 and TxID2 respectively, they can be related by the same public key P.

[0082] Leveraging the power of network node verification

[0083] Here, the transaction verification process performed by network nodes is used to gain an advantage when storing this data. This is because all data in the transaction output will be signed by the owner of the public key P in at least one transaction input (if the SIGHASH|ALL flag is present), and this signature will be checked during the transaction verification process performed by all network nodes.

[0084] This ensures

[0085] Data integrity - If the data is corrupted, the CHECKSIG operation will fail.

[0086] Data authenticity - the owner of P has provably witnessed and signed the data.

[0087] This is particularly beneficial for content that is split across multiple transactions, as P's input signature provides a provable link between the split components of the data, as discussed above. Figure 3 The arrangement shown in FIG.

[0088] Rabin's signature

[0089] Another way to ensure the authenticity of data is to use Rabin signatures, which can be used to sign the data itself rather than the entire message. This can be advantageous because the signer does not need to sign each individual transaction in which the data appears, and the signature can be reused in multiple transactions.

[0090] Rabin signatures can be easily verified in the script. These can be incorporated into case (2) above by inserting the Rabin signature verification before the OP_DROP command, i.e.

[0091] <content1><Rabin Sig(content1)>FUNC_CHECKRABSIG OP_DROP<H(P1)> [CheckSigP1]

[0092] Note that this cannot be done in case (1) above, since the script containing the OP_RETURN fails anyway, so verification cannot be achieved.

[0093] A concrete example using Rabin signatures

[0094] introduce

[0095] Digital signatures are a fundamental part of blockchain protocols. They ensure that any transaction recorded on the blockchain has been authorized by the legitimate holder of the token being sent. In blockchain transactions, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is used to sign transaction messages. However, ECDSA signatures are typically applied to the entire transaction.

[0096] There are some use cases for blockchains where participants from outside the network may want to provide signatures for arbitrary data types that can then be used by network participants. By using Rabin digital signatures, any piece of data can be signed - even if it originates from outside the blockchain - and then placed in one or more transactions.

[0097] It will now be shown how data can be signed and verified directly with a script by exploiting the algebraic structure of the Rabin cryptosystem.

[0098] Rabin digital signature

[0099] Rabin digital signature algorithm

[0100] Background Mathematics

[0101] Definition – Integer mod p

[0102] The set of integers modulo p is defined as

[0103]

[0104] Fermat's Little Theorem

[0105] Let p be a prime number. Then for any integer a, the following condition applies

[0106] a p-1 ≡1mod p

[0107] Euler criterion

[0108] Let p be a prime number. r is a quadratic remainder mod p if and only if

[0109]

[0110] Modular square root (p = 3 mod 4)

[0111] Let p be a prime number such that p≡3mod 4. Then for any integer r that satisfies Euler's criterion, if a is an integer such that

[0112] a 2 ≡rmodp

[0113] Then, a has a solution of the form

[0114]

[0115] Chinese Remainder Theorem

[0116] Given pairs of mutually prime positive integers n1,n2,…,n k and any integers a1, a2, ..., a k , a system of simultaneous congruences

[0117]

[0118]

[0119] Has a unique solution modulus N = n1n2…n k As a special case of the Chinese Remainder Theorem, it can be shown that:

[0120] If and only if

[0121] When x≡rmodn1·n2,

[0122] x≡r mod n1 and x≡r mod n2

[0123] Rabin digital signature algorithm

[0124] The Rabin digital signature algorithm can be described as follows:

[0125] For any message m, let H be a collision-resistant hash algorithm with k output bits.

[0126] To generate the key, select prime numbers p and q, each with a bit length approximately k / 2, such that p≡3mod4 and q≡3mod4, and calculate the product n=p·q. The private key is (p,q), and the public key is n=p·q.

[0127] To sign a message m, the signer chooses padding U such that H(m||U) satisfies

[0128]

[0129] The signature S is calculated using the following formula

[0130]

[0131] The signature of a message m is a pair (S, U). Verification can be performed simply by checking that for a given m, U, and S,

[0132] H(m||U)≡S 2 modn (Equation 1).

[0133] If and only if there exists an integer λ in the range 0,…,n-1 such that

[0134] H(m||U)+λ·n=S 2 (Equation 2), this is true.

[0135] The factor λ can be safely included in the signature to provide the combination (S,λ,U).

[0136] The advantageous features of the Rabin signature scheme are as follows:

[0137] a) Signature generation is computationally expensive, while signature verification is computationally easy.

[0138] b) The security of the signature depends only on the difficulty of integer factorization. Therefore, the Rabin signature is inherently unforgeable (unlike RSA).

[0139] c) The hash function value H(m||U) must have a similar size to the public key n.

[0140] Verification in Script is straightforward, as it only requires squaring the given signature, performing a modular reduction, and then checking that the result is equal to H(m||U).

[0141] Rabin Signature Proof

[0142] Let p and q be relatively prime numbers, and n = p·q. Using the Chinese remainder theorem, we can show that:

[0143] If and only if

[0144] S 2 ≡H(m||U)mod p

[0145] S 2 ≡H(m||U)mod q,

[0146] but

[0147] S 2 ≡H(m||U)mod n

[0148] Use the following equation

[0149]

[0150] It can be shown that:

[0151] S 2 ≡H(m||U)modq

[0152] so

[0153]

[0154] Here, it is assumed that H(m||U) satisfies the Euler criterion. Through similar calculations, it can also be shown that:

[0155] S 2 ≡H(m||U)modp.

[0156] Rabin signatures in blockchain

[0157] Signature verification in scripts

[0158] A small amount of arithmetic and stack manipulation opcodes are required to verify the Rabin signature. Consider a redemption script of the form

[0159] OP_DUP OP_HASH160 <H 160 (n)>OP_EQUALVERIFY OP_MUL OP_SWAP OP_2OP_ROLLOP_CAT FUNC_HASH3072 OP_ADD OP_SWAP OP_DUP OP_MUL OP_EQUAL

[0160] Where n is the signer's public key. This will evaluate to true if and only if the following input is present

[0161] <s> <m><λ> <n>

[0162] Where m is an arbitrary message and (S,λ,U) is a valid Rabin signature. Alternatively, if the Rabin signature is checked using equation 1 above, the redemption script is given by:

[0163] OP_DUP OP_HASH160 <H 160 (n)>OP_DUP OP_TOALTSTACK OP_SWAP<roll index> OP_ROLL OP_CAT FUNC_HASH3072 OP_SWAP OP_MOD OP_SWAP OP_DUP OP_MUL OP_FROMALTSTACK OP_MOD OP_EQUAL

[0164] In this case, this will evaluate to true if and only if the input is

[0165] S> <m> <n>

[0166] In both redemption scripts, the 3072-bit hash projection function "FUNC_HASH3072" is used. For a given message / padding concatenation, the following script is used to generate the FUNC_HASH3072 hash projection:

[0167] OP_SHA256{OP_2OP_SPLIT OP_SWAP OP_SHA256 OP_SWAP}(x11)

[0168] OP_SHA256 OP_SWAP OP_SHA256{OP_CAT}(x11)

[0169] Data compression

[0170] Internet data consists of JavaScript and common file types, such as text files (SML, HTML, etc.), video files (MPEG, M-JPEG, etc.), image files (GIF, JPEG, etc.), and audio files (AU, WAV, etc.), as described in more detail at the following link: https: / / www.doc.ic.ac.uk / ~nd / surprise_97 / journal / vol1 / mmp / #text. Using the data insertion techniques described above, these different data types can also be embedded on the blockchain.

[0171] Before embedding large file sizes on the blockchain, they can be compressed using one of several existing encoding schemes. Lossless data compression algorithms such as run-length and Huffman coding can be used for several applications, including ZIP files, executable programs, text documents, and source code.

[0172] There are many different algorithms, depending on the specific input data. Apple Lossless and Adaptive Transform Vocoding can be used to compress audio files, PNG and TIFF can be used to compress graphic files, and movie files can be compressed using one of many lossless video codecs. Flags within the attributes can be used to indicate any compression of the data content. For example, the flag in the attributes for the LZW lossless encoding scheme would be <lzw>.

[0173] Encryption and decryption of payments

[0174] Data encryption

[0175] Content owners can choose to protect their content before embedding it on the blockchain. This ensures that the content cannot be viewed without the necessary permissions.

[0176] There are many well-established techniques for encrypting data (plaintext or other data types). These techniques can be categorized as either asymmetric encryption or symmetric encryption.

[0177] Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is asymmetric because it relies on a public-private key pair. It is one of the most secure cryptographic systems. For ECC cryptography, the Koblitz algorithm can be used to encrypt data.

[0178] In a symmetric scheme, a single key is used for both encryption and decryption of data. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm is considered one of the most secure symmetric algorithms that is seeded with such a secret, as described in more detail, for example, in Chapter 4 of C. Paar and J. Pelzl, "Understanding Cryptography", Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2nd edition, 2010, pp. 87-118.

[0179] When encrypting data stored on a blockchain, there are advantages to using the same cryptographic system as the underlying blockchain. This can be the secp256k1 convention for ECC key pairs in asymmetric cryptography, and the SHA-256 hash function in symmetric cryptography. These advantages are:

[0180] -The encryption is only as secure as the underlying system on which the data is stored.

[0181] -The software architecture required to store encrypted data will have a smaller code base.

[0182] -Key management in the wallet can be used for both transactions and encryption / decryption.

[0183] - It is more efficient because the same key can be used for encryption and payments, so fewer keys are required. This also reduces storage space.

[0184] - The ability to exchange / purchase decrypted data may require fewer communication channels.

[0185] - Improved security because the keys used for encryption and transactions are the same data structure, thus mitigating targeted attacks against specific key types.

[0186] For purposes of illustration, it is described how the Koblitz algorithm may be used to encrypt data using ECC.

[0187] Koblitz algorithm

[0188] Given an ECC key pair P1=S1·G, the Koblitz algorithm allows anyone to encrypt a message using the public key P1 so that only someone who knows the corresponding private key S1 can decrypt the message.

[0189] Suppose you want to use the Koblitz method to encrypt the plaintext message 'hello world'. This is done character by character. The first character 'h' is encrypted and decrypted as follows.

[0190] 1. Character ′h ′ Map to a point on the secp256k1 curve. This can be done by mapping the plaintext characters to 8-bit numbers using the ASCII convention. The point on the curve is then calculated by multiplying the base point G by this number. In this example, 'h' maps to 104 in ASCII and the elliptic curve point is given by P m =104·G is given.

[0191] 2. Then use the public key P1 to point P m This is done by choosing a random temporary key k0 and computing the pair C m ={k0·G,Q}(where Q=P m +k0·P1) to achieve this, and then the point pair can be broadcast.

[0192] 3. The owner of the private key S1 can calculate P m =Q-S1·k0·G to decrypt the original point. They can then recover the original ASCII digits by trial and error or with the help of a lookup table to establish which number x corresponds to P m =x·G.

[0193] Using blockchain to purchase licenses

[0194] Storing data on a blockchain has the obvious advantage that payment mechanisms are built into the system. Payments can be used to purchase

[0195] -Decrypt data for viewing / use

[0196] -Permission to insert data at a specific address

[0197] In both cases, the buyer uses a token to purchase a secret that grants them permission to do something. This secret can be a hash preimage or a private key.

[0198] An efficient and secure way to conduct this purchase is to use an atomic swap. This keeps the secure communication channel to a minimum and ensures payment to the seller and disclosure to the buyer without any incident.

[0199] It's also convenient to purchase licenses using access tokens. This is a secret value (usually a hashed preimage) that the buyer possesses and can use to make a purchase. The buyer can purchase a large number of these access tokens in advance and then activate them when they actually want to use the license.

[0200] Now refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 Describes how to perform atomic swaps.

[0201] Atomic swaps using hash puzzles or private key puzzles

[0202] Assume Alice is the owner of a secret. This secret can be a hash preimage of a known hash digest, or a private key of a known public key. Suppose Bob wishes to purchase this secret from Alice using tokens. Describe a mechanism called an atomic swap that enables this transaction. This transaction is atomic in the sense that Alice receives the tokens paid for it and the secret is revealed to Bob, or nothing happens at all.

[0203] The method is as follows:

[0204] Alice has a public / private key pair P A =S A G's private key S A , Bob has the public / private key pair P B =S B G's private key S B .

[0205] Alice has the secret of the private key S1 which is the preimage X of the known hash digest H(X) or the known public key P1=S1·G.

[0206] They agree that Alice will sell the secret to Bob for a token price.

[0207] Before this can happen, Bob must set up a transaction to send the temporary key k0 to Alice outside the block, so that Alice can calculate the component r0 of the digital signature.

[0208] Reference Figure 4 ,

[0209] 1. Bob transfers the tokens locked via the following redemption script R (written schematically) to Alice:

[0210] For the hash preimage:

[0211] R=[Hash PuzzleH(X)][CheckSig P A ]

[0212] This forces the preimage X to be exposed in the redeem script's input.

[0213] For the private key:

[0214] R=[Private Key PuzzleP1,r0][CheckSig P A ]

[0215] This forces the private key S1 to be computable from the input to the redeem script. In this case, Bob and Alice must agree on a temporary key k0 for constructing r0, where (r0, R y )=k0·G.

[0216] 2. Since Alice knows her secret (X or S1), she can use Figure 5 The transaction shown spends her funds on the blockchain. This allows Bob to determine her secret.

[0217] As an optional security feature, Alice and Bob can use their public keys P A ,P B To establish a shared secret S known only to the two parties. This can be achieved in the manner outlined in International Patent Publication No. WO 2017 / 145016. In this case, S can be added to the preimage X in the hash puzzle so that X is not publicly revealed on the blockchain. Similarly, in the private key puzzle, S can be used as a temporary key k0 to ensure that only Alice or Bob can calculate the private key.

[0218] If Alice decides not to spend her funds, a time-locked refund can be introduced into the procedure to prevent Bob’s funds from being locked up by Alice.

[0219] Purchase using tokens

[0220] Assume the same situation as described above, but Bob wishes to redeem the access token purchased in advance in exchange for a secret.

[0221] The procedure that Alice and Bob must follow is similar to the situation described in the previous section, but uses a similar sequence of atomic swaps. The process consists of two phases: token issuance and token redemption.

[0222] Phase 1: Token Release

[0223] The token issuance phase is actually a single purchase of tokens by Bob. For example, consider the following scenario: Alice has 10 different secrets X1, X2, …, X 10 , and Bob wishes to make a single purchase of 10 tokens T1, T2, …, T that each grant him access to the corresponding secret 10 .

[0224] First, Bob generates a set of 10 tokens from a secret seed value known only to him. These tokens are created by sequentially hashing the seed to form a hash chain, where each token is calculated as:

[0225] T i =H 10-i (Y) for i∈{1,2,…,10}.

[0226] Alice and Bob now each have 10 secret values ​​that can be revealed in a hash puzzle to, for example, redeem tokens. However, in order to issue these tokens, they must also each generate a secret initialization value I Alice and I Bob . These values ​​are given as follows:

[0227]

[0228] I Bob =H 10 (Y).

[0229] It should be noted that Alice's initialiser is simply a random integer with no particular meaning, but Bob's initialiser should be the hash of his first token T1 = H 9 (Y). Extending the token chain to an initialization value in this manner allows token issuance to also define tokens to be later used for subsequent redemption. Figure 6 All secret values ​​kept by each participant are shown in .

[0230] Alice and Bob can now agree to buy 10 tokens at a price of 10 units. The purchase of these tokens can be done in a variety of ways, but we will use an atomic swap to illustrate this. The atomic swap is broadcast by Alice and Bob, respectively. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The outputs in both transactions require the solution of two hash puzzles and a valid signature.

[0231] Once two transactions appear in the blockchain, Alice and Bob can share their shared initialization value I Alice and I Bob , and complete the atomic swap of token issuance.

[0232] As a result of this atomic swap, Alice receives payment for the 10 tokens and both initialization secrets are revealed. Note that only Bob’s secret I is Bob =H 10 (Y) is meaningful because it will define the first hash puzzle to be solved [Hash Puzzle (T1)], whose solution is the initialization value H 10 The preimage H of (Y) 9 (Y).

[0233] Phase 2: Token Redemption

[0234] At some point in the future, Bob wants to redeem his first token T1 = H 9 (Y) and receives its first secret X1, but as mentioned above, it has already paid for this secret by purchasing a valid token. The process of exchanging tokens will take the form of another atomic swap, in which the solution to the hash puzzle is locked in as token T i and the corresponding secret X i .

[0235] To redeem his tokens, Bob should broadcast Figure 9 The transaction shown in , the output of which is locked with two hash puzzles. When Alice sees this transaction, she broadcasts Figure 10 , whose outputs are locked with the same two hash puzzles. The two participants can now exchange their secrets T1 and X1 and unlock the outputs of these transactions. The two parties can now redeem the nominal fee x by providing the correct unlocking script that also exposes both secrets. Figure 11 and Figure 12 A transaction with these unlocking scripts is shown in .

[0236] The completion of this atomic swap to exchange tokens reveals Alice's first secret X1 to Bob, reveals Bob's first token T1 to Alice, and, given that the amount x is suitably large to encourage both parties to spend the locked output, has a net-zero exchange of funds. Crucially, this also establishes that the next token Bob can spend must be the solution T2 to the hash puzzle [hash puzzle H(T2)], where the target hash H(T2) = T1 has just been revealed to Alice. This process can be repeated recursively until Bob has spent his last token T 10 =Y until.

[0237] Naming and addressing

[0238] Node and edge structure

[0239] We have already explained how data can be inserted into a blockchain by providing it within a transaction. We will now present a protocol for structuring these transactions in a logical manner that allows for node addressing, permissions, and content versioning. The structure of this distributed peer-to-peer metanet is similar to the existing Internet.

[0240] It should be noted that this is a "tier-2" protocol that does not modify the protocol or consensus rules of the underlying blockchain.

[0241] The goals of the structure described here are:

[0242] (i) Correlate related content across different transactions to enable search, identification, and access to data

[0243] (ii) Allow human-readable keyword searches to identify content, improving search speed, accuracy, and efficiency

[0244] (iii) Building and simulating server-like structures in the blockchain

[0245] Our approach is to structure the data associated with the meta-network into a directed graph. The nodes and edges of this graph correspond to:

[0246] Node - Transactions associated with the Metanet Protocol. Nodes store content. (The terms "content" and "data" are used interchangeably throughout this document.)

[0247] Nodes are included by<Metanet Flag> Each node is assigned a public key P node The combination of the public key and the transaction ID uniquely specifies the index ID of the node. node :=H(P node ||TxID node ).

[0248] The hash function used should be consistent with the underlying blockchain protocol that the present invention will be used with, for example, SHA-256 or RIPEMD-160.

[0249] Edge - the association of a child node with a parent node.

[0250] Edge in Signature Sig P parent Edges are created when they appear as inputs to a MetaNet transaction, so only a parent can grant permission to create an edge. Each node can have at most one parent, and a parent node can have any number of children. In the language of graph theory, the indegree of each node is at most 1, and the outdegree of each node is arbitrary.

[0251] It should be noted that edges are aspects of the metanet protocol and are not themselves transactions associated with the underlying blockchain.

[0252] A valid metanet node (with a parent) is given by a transaction of the following form:

[0253]

[0254] This transaction contains all the information needed to specify the following nodes and their parent indexes:

[0255] ID node =H(P node ||TxID node ),

[0256] ID parent =H(P parent ||TxID parent ).

[0257] Furthermore, since the parent's signature is required, only the parent can create an edge to its child. <TxID parent >field does not exist or does not point to a valid Metanet transaction, the node is orphaned. The node has no higher-level nodes that can reach it.

[0258] Additional attributes can be added to each node. These attributes can include flags, names, and keywords. These attributes are discussed later in this document.

[0259] As shown, the index of nodes (transactions) can be divided into

[0260] a) Public key P node , which we interpret as the address of the node

[0261] b) Transaction ID TxID node , which we interpret as the node's version

[0262] This structuring yields two advantageous features:

[0263] 1. Versioning - If two nodes have the same public key, we interpret the node with the transaction ID that has the highest proof-of-work as the latest version of that node. If the nodes are in different blocks, this can be checked using the block height. For transactions in the same block, this is determined using the Topological Transaction Ordering Rule (TTOR).

[0264] 2. Permission - only if the public key P node The node's children can only be created when the owner of P signs the transaction input when creating the child node. node It represents not only the address of a node, but also the permission to create child nodes. This is intentionally similar to standard blockchain transactions - the public key is not only the address, but also the permission associated with that address.

[0265] It should be noted that since the parent node’s signature appears in the UXTO unlocking script, it is verified through the standard network node verification process when the network accepts the transaction. This means that the permission to create the child node is verified by the blockchain network itself.

[0266] It is worth noting that standard Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are only unique within a network at a certain point in time. On the other hand, the index of a node in the metanet is unique at all times, and there is no concept of separate networks, which allows data to be permanently anchored to a single object ID. node .

[0267] The node and edge structure allows visualizing the meta-network as a graph, e.g. Figure 13 shown.

[0268] Domains, naming, and locating content in the metanet

[0269] The hierarchical structure of the metanet graph allows for a rich domain-like structure to emerge. We interpret orphan nodes as top-level domains (TLDs), children of orphan nodes as subdomains, grandchildren as sub-subdomains, etc., and childless nodes as end-points. Figure 13 .

[0270] Domain name is interpreted as ID node Each top-level domain in the metanet can be viewed as a tree, where the root is an orphan node and the leaves are childless nodes. The metanet itself is a global collection of trees forming a graph.

[0271] The Metanet protocol does not specify that any node contains content data, but leaf (childless) nodes represent the end of a directed path on the data tree and will therefore typically be used to store content data. However, content can be stored at any node in the tree. Protocol-specific flags included as attributes in the node can be used to specify the role of the node in the data tree (disk space, folder, file, or permission change).

[0272] As mentioned earlier, the internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to associate human-readable names with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS is decentralized in some sense, though in practice it is controlled by a small number of key players (e.g., governments and large corporations). Depending on your DNS provider, the same name can lead you to different addresses. This problem is inherent in mapping short, human-readable names to computer-generated numbers.

[0273] We assume that there is a decentralized index ID that maps human-readable top-level domains to root nodes. root In other words, there exists a 1-1 function κ that maps human-readable names to meta-network root node indices, such that:

[0274] κ(′bobsblog′)=ID bobsblog (=H(P bobsblog ||TxID bobsblog ))

[0275] The input to the left is a human-readable word, and the output to the right is a hash digest, which will typically be a 256-bit data structure. bobsblog and TxID bobsblog It is not usually human-readable. In standard IP terms, this would be a mapping from www.bobsblog.com to the IP address of the corresponding domain within the network.

[0276] The mapping κ should be interpreted as a measure to ensure backward compatibility of the Metanet with the Internet when replicating human readability of DNS-published domain names, but the naming and addressing scheme providing the structure of the Metanet does not explicitly depend on this mapping.

[0277] Possible existing forms of mapping functions include the DNSLink system adopted by the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) or the OpenNIC service (https: / / www.openic.org). The mapping can be stored in an existing TXT record as part of DNS. This is similar to DNSLink in IPFS, see https: / / docs.ipfs.io / guides / concepts / dnslink / . However, in general, these sacrifice some elements of decentralization in order to provide a 1-1 mapping, see https: / / hackernoon.com / ten-terrible-attempts-to-make-the-inter-planetary-file-system-human-friendly-e4e95df0c6fa

[0278] The public keys used as addresses for Metanet nodes are not human-readable objects. This can make searching, referencing, and entering data by human users error-prone and slow. However, it is possible to create human-readable public key addresses that include a plaintext prefix that can be directly deciphered by the user.

[0279] The difficulty of creating such an address depends on the length of the required prefix. This means that human-readable vanity addresses can be used as node addresses, relying solely on the owner's creation effort rather than central publication. For a given prefix, many different human-readable addresses exist due to the remaining characters in the suffix, so many node addresses can share a common prefix while still maintaining uniqueness.

[0280] An example of a human-readable address with the required prefix is:

[0281] P bobsblog :bobsblogHtKNngkdXEeobR76b53LETtpyT

[0282] Prefix:bobsblog

[0283] Suffix:HtKNngkdXEeobR76b53LETtpyT

[0284] The human-readable address above can be used to sense the node index ID from the name 'bobsblog' bobsblog It should be noted that the prefix is ​​not unique here, but the entire address itself is a unique entity.

[0285] Selected address P vanity Together with TxID, it forms ID node The combination of [a,b] is also beneficial because it means there is no central issuer of domain names (TxIDs are generated by decentralized proof-of-work), and names are recoverable from the blockchain itself. Advantageously, there are no more points of failure that existed within the Internet DNS.

[0286] Since the metadomain already provides a permission system (public keys), there is no need to issue certificates to prove ownership. Blockchain has been explored for this purpose. However, according to the present invention, there is no need to use a separate blockchain for this function, as everything can be implemented within a single blockchain.

[0287] This significantly reduces the amount of resources (hardware, processing resources and energy) required by the present invention compared to the prior art. It also provides a completely different architecture in terms of the arrangement of devices and system components.

[0288] The advantage of this naming system is that users can identify top-level domains in the Metanet by memorable words (e.g., company names) rather than hash digests. This also makes searching for domains faster, as it is faster to search for keywords rather than hash digests. This also reduces typos, thus providing an improved search tool for blockchain-stored data.

[0289] Given that we have a mapping from domain names to node indices, we can create a resource locator similar to the Internet's Uniform Resource Locator (URL). We call this a Metanet URL (MURL), and it takes the form

[0290] MURL='mnp:'+ ′ / / domain name ′+′ / path′+′ / file′.

[0291] Each component of a URL—protocol, domain name, path, and file—has been mapped to the structure of a MURL, making the object more user-intuitive and enabling it to integrate with the existing structure of the Internet.

[0292] This assumes that each node has a name associated with its public key (address), which is unique at that level within the domain tree. This name is always the rightmost component of the MURL for a given node. If two nodes at the same level in the tree have the same name, they will have the same public key, so the latest version is used.

[0293] The following table gives an analogy between the Metanet Protocol and the Internet Protocol:

[0294]

[0295] Table: Summary of the analogy between Internet Protocol and Metanet Protocol

[0296] Search Metanet

[0297] We have defined the meta-graph structure of the exemplary embodiment so that each node has a unique index and can have a name attributed to it. This allows the use of MURLs to locate content. To also enable fast search functionality, we allow additional keywords to be attributed to nodes.

[0298] The fixed attributes of a node are the index and the index of the parent node, and the optional attributes are the name and keyword.

[0299] Node properties

[0300]

[0301] In one example, a practical approach for searching the Metanet might be to first trawl the blockchain using a block explorer, identifying all transactions with a Metanet flag, checking whether they are valid Metanet nodes, and if so, recording their index and keywords in a database or other storage resource. This database can then be used to efficiently search for nodes using the desired keywords. Once the node's index is found using the desired keywords, its content can be retrieved from the block explorer and viewed.

[0302] For example, consider Figure 14 Branch P1, which corresponds to the public keys P0, P1 and P 1,1 The nodes represent the home page, topic page, and sub-topic page respectively. These nodes are given the names 'bobsblog', 'summer', and 'caribbean', and their properties are as follows:

[0303] Homepage node P0

[0304]

[0305] Topic page node P1

[0306]

[0307] Subtopic page node P 1,1

[0308]

[0309] In this example, the leaf node P 1,1,1 、P 1,1,2 and P 1,1,3 They are given the names 'beaches', 'nightlife' and 'food' respectively and are used to store individual blog posts. The complete domain structure is shown in the diagram overleaf at the end of the page, including the MURL search paths associated with each node in the tree.

[0310] We should note that the Metanet can also be incorporated into the Content Addressable Network (CAN) by storing the hash of the content stored by the node transaction as an additional attribute. This means that Metanet nodes can also be indexed and searched by content hash.

[0311] The naming and addressing method described above provides numerous technical advantages over existing technologies, including:

[0312] 1. Public Key Addresses - The system uses the same public-private key pairs as the blockchain to assign node addresses. This means the same set of keys is used for both fund management and content data licensing. This provides an efficient and secure solution.

[0313] 2. Decentralized Domains - Domain names are published by including TxIDs that can only be generated by proof of work node While fully decentralized, domain names can also incorporate human-readable public keys that achieve fair distribution of required domain public keys. Again, this approach provides enhanced efficiency and security.

[0314] 3. Graph Structure - The naming and addressing architecture specifies a graph that can be constructed from a subset of blockchain data, including metanet nodes. This design uses an ordered structure to map the complexity of the Internet to the blockchain, allowing the blockchain to fully replicate its functionality and scalability while maintaining security.

[0315] Browser wallet application

[0316] As previously described, in the Metanet protocol, all data exists directly on the blockchain itself. In this section, we provide an illustrative embodiment of a computer application that can efficiently access, display, and interact with Metanet data stored on the blockchain, referred to herein for convenience as a "browser wallet."

[0317] We will first discuss the core components and functionality of how browser wallets interface with the distributed peer-to-peer internet, before providing a more detailed description in the remainder of this section.

[0318] Overview

[0319] Components

[0320] The browser wallet is an application designed to allow end users to interact with the Metanet infrastructure on the blockchain. The application should allow exploratory searching of the Metanet graph to locate specific content embedded in the tree. Additionally, the browser wallet will handle content retrieval, decryption, reassembly, and optionally caching.

[0321] The browser wallet application will combine these elements with the payment mechanism by supporting local (or external) wallets. The browser wallet will include the following core elements combined into a single computer application.

[0322] Blockchain search engine - supports third-party search engines through various indexes (including ID node , node name, keyword, block height and TxID) to query the MetaNet node.

[0323] Display Window - Software that unpacks the content returned to the browser by a full copy of the blockchain peer. This covers decryption, reassembly, caching, and redemption of access tokens.

[0324] Wallet - Dedicated key management for blockchain currencies. Can be local to the application or authorized to communicate and synchronize with external wallets (software or hardware). Can write standard blockchain transactions as well as new Metanet node transactions. Can mediate on-chain purchases of access keys and access tokens.

[0325] Hierarchical deterministic key management can be used for both public keys and meta-network node addresses.

[0326] Access Key / Token Wallet - Dedicated key management for purchased access keys or tokens. A wallet can be used to receive purchased keys or tokens, but does not grant access to them. Keys or tokens can be hidden from the user to allow for later expiration. This can be achieved through the use of a trusted execution environment. Timed access can be guaranteed by syncing with the blockchain and querying the current block height.

[0327] Functional

[0328] The specifications of the Metanet Browser Wallet ensure the following functions of the application.

[0329] 1. Hierarchical Key Management - The keys used to control funds and manage the Metanet Tree (Figure) utilize the same hierarchical deterministic key infrastructure, thereby reducing the burden on users to maintain key records for their Metanet content.

[0330] 2. Pointing to External Wallets - The ability to authorize and sync with external (non-app local) wallets allows for additional security by removing the browser wallet as a point of failure.

[0331] The application can write blockchain transactions and require a signature from an external wallet that holds the keys, thereby delegating this responsibility to separate software or hardware.

[0332] 3. Searching Metanet Content - The browser wallet can support and query third-party search engines. The engine's functions may include crawling, indexing, serving, and rating Metanet node transaction data in the global database. A database of OP_RETURN transactions containing Metanet protocol flags can be constructed. See BitDB 2.0 - https: / / bitdb.network / 。

[0333] Search engines can provide browser wallets with node indexes, which allows data to be found.

[0334] 4. Read and write data to the blockchain - In addition to using search engines and full nodes to provide content to browsers, support for wallets also allows content to be written directly from browser wallets to the metanet.

[0335] 5. Decompression and decryption of data - The browser wallet handles the decryption keys and can perform decompression on the Metanet content in situ.

[0336] 6. Cache node identity (ID node ) - Unique node identities can be cached locally for more efficient lookups and queries.

[0337] 7. Bypass Network Server - Given a node index, the browser wallet can query any full replica member of the peer-to-peer (P2P) blockchain network to obtain the content located at the node. Because the metanet exists on-chain, any full replica peer must have a local copy of the node and its content.

[0338] This means that the user's browser wallet only needs to query a single peer, which can be done directly without the need for an intermediary network server.

[0339] Figure 15 Shows a schematic diagram of a browser wallet and how its core functionality is split between different components of the application.

[0340] Blockchain search engine

[0341] Search Engines – Prior Art

[0342] Search engines (SEs) known in the art rely on powerful web crawlers to locate, index, and rank web content based on user queries. (The same basic principles can be extended to third-party blockchain SEs that crawl the metanet.)

[0343] The SE identifies relevant HTML meta tags and content by searching for keywords in the query. The crawled results are then indexed, analyzing and cataloging any embedded images, videos, and media files. The most relevant results in the index are then programmatically ranked, taking into account the user's location, language, and device.

[0344] A typical SE should have the following functionality:

[0345] 1. Crawling - Identify Internet data and crawl through related metadata such as domain names, linked pages, related keywords, etc. Discover new Internet content through existing content and also crawl for any related information.

[0346] 2. Indexing - Analyze and catalog content data. This information is stored in a database.

[0347] 3. Serving and Rating - Rating content indexes in order of relevance to user queries.

[0348] Block Detector

[0349] The closest blockchain analog to an Internet search engine (SE) is a blockchain explorer, sometimes called a 'block explorer' or 'blockchain browser.' A blockchain explorer is a web application that enables user-friendly queries of the blockchain at a high level and functions similarly to a web browser, but connects to the blockchain rather than the Internet.

[0350] In most cases, these explorers allow blocks (indexed by the block header's hash), transactions (indexed by TxID), addresses, and unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) to be searched as input. Many explorers also provide their own application programming interface (API) for retrieving raw transaction and block data. See https: / / blockexplorer.com / api-ref.

[0351] Block explorers, while varying in their capabilities, are generally useful for cataloging transactions and displaying basic information—such as addresses—in a form that is easily digestible by users. Many explorers also allow viewing of a transaction's individual inputs and locking scripts, although there are inconsistencies between how these explorers and more advanced sites (such as Blockchair https: / / blockchair.com / ) choose to present this information.

[0352] Recently, there have been many extensions to the basic blockchain explorer for running web applications based on blockchain data. These applications (for example, Memo.cash https: / / memo.cash / protocol and Matter https: / / www.mttr.app / home) catalog and organize blockchain transactions containing specific protocol identifiers, just like a blockchain explorer, and display the data encoded within those specific transactions.

[0353] However, there are two significant issues with using blockchain detectors, which embodiments of the present invention address:

[0354] 1. Universality - Currently, there is no industry standard for viewing the content data stored in transactions. Content data refers to any data that is not part of the protocol used to create and secure the underlying blockchain.

[0355] 2. Keyword Search - The content data stored in transactions needs to be searchable by human-readable keywords. This is generally not a feature of current block explorers, as they query protocol-based properties of transactions (e.g., block height, TxID, and address) rather than keywords as search input. (However, some explorers, such as Blockchair, can search for these terms if they are included directly in the transaction script.)

[0356] Importantly, as described above, the powerful naming and addressing structure of the present invention facilitates and enables the construction of more complex blockchain probes than are known in the art.

[0357] Metanet Search Engine

[0358] The browser wallet application communicates with a third-party search engine to discover the node identity (ID node ). It is contemplated that this third party may provide a powerful and versatile service that replicates the capabilities of existing Internet search engines.

[0359] The Metanet search engine third party maintains a database of all Metanet transactions mined into the blockchain that can be identified by the Metanet protocol logo. This database can be found by including the ID node , node name, keyword, TxID and block height range index catalogs all meta-network nodes.

[0360] Services already exist that continuously synchronize with the blockchain and maintain transaction data in a standard database format. Browser wallets offload the responsibility of crawling, indexing, serving, and ranking Metanet transactions to this third party and connect to its service when locating content stored on the Metanet graph.

[0361] By having a database dedicated only to Metanet data, efficiency gains can be achieved. This database would not store data associated with all transactions, but only data that contains a Metanet identifier. Certain non-relational databases, such as MongoDB, may be more efficient at storing the graph structure of the Metanet. This allows for faster queries, lower storage requirements, and more efficient association of related content within the Metanet domain.

[0362] Figure 16 It shows how a browser wallet interacts with a third-party search engine when a user searches for content within the Metanet infrastructure. It is important to note that, in contrast to the Internet, no routing is required, thus providing significant advantages in terms of efficiency, speed, processing, and required resources.

[0363] The process is as follows:

[0364] 1. The end user enters keywords in the browser wallet search bar.

[0365] 2. The browser wallet sends the keyword query to the third-party SE.

[0366] 3. The SE checks the keyword against its database and returns the ID of any MetaNetwork Node that contains relevant content node . Third parties can also return other indexes on each node to users and provide suggestions for related content.

[0367] 4. The browser wallet uses the node ID and the domain name associated with it to construct the MURL.

[0368] 5. The browser wallet requests the content belonging to the specified node from any network peer that has a full copy of the blockchain.

[0369] 6. The network peer provides the requested content to the browser wallet. Because the peer has a copy of the blockchain, it must also have a copy of the content, so only one request is made and the request is never forwarded to other network peers.

[0370] It should be emphasized that the third-party SE is only responsible for indexing and maintaining the attribute records of the meta-network nodes, while the original content data stored on the nodes is stored by network peers with a full copy of the blockchain (e.g., full copy peers, archives).

[0371] Content Display – MetaNet Browser

[0372] The browser wallet application emulates the same front-end capabilities that any typical web browser should provide. These features include but are not limited to:

[0373] 1. Search - Provides access to a search engine (SE) to locate content.

[0374] 2. Retrieval - Communicate with a server to facilitate delivery of content using known protocols, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0375] 3. Interpretation - Parsing the original code (for example, in JavaScript) and executing it.

[0376] 4. Rendering - Efficiently display the parsed content for end users to view.

[0377] 5. User Interface (UI) - Provide users with an intuitive interface for interacting with content, including action buttons and mechanisms for user input.

[0378] 6. Storage - Local temporary storage capacity used for caching Internet content, cookies, etc. to improve repeat access to content.

[0379] In certain embodiments, a software component of a browser wallet application responsible for acting as a web browser is able to perform the above functions on metanet content embedded in a blockchain, which is searchable (using SE) and retrievable (from peers) using its attributes.

[0380] Reassembly, decompression, and decryption

[0381] According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the web browser software component of the browser wallet application is capable of handling all operations that need to be performed on a given metanet content. Generally speaking, there are many such operations that need to be performed, but we assume that at least the following operations are performed by the application using the metanet protocol and infrastructure.

[0382] Reassembly - In the case where metanet content needs to be fragmented and inserted into multiple separate node transactions, the application will request the content from all relevant nodes and reconstruct the original content. The order and structure of the fragmented content can be encoded using additional flags in the properties of each node.

[0383] Decompression - In cases where content data is stored in compressed form on the blockchain, a flag should be included to indicate to the browser wallet which standard compression scheme has been used. The application will decompress the content based on this flag.

[0384] Decryption - In the case that the content is encrypted, a flag should be used to indicate the encryption scheme. The application will locate the key from its decryption key wallet (discussed below) and decrypt the content data for use according to the encryption scheme used.

[0385] When performing these operations on content data, flags can be used to indicate to the browser wallet that a given operation needs to be performed. This applies to any other operation, for which the appropriate<operation_flag> May be included as part of the properties of the node to which the operation applies.

[0386] Cache

[0387] Caching of local files and cookies is a common and important feature of typical web browsers. Browser wallet applications also use local storage in a similar way to optionally save IDs related to content of interest. node This allows for more efficient lookup and retrieval of content from frequently visited MetaNetwork nodes.

[0388] The Metanet solves the inherent problem of caching internet data, which is mutable and can be altered or truncated by web browsing software depending on the provider. When caching Metanet data, users can always easily verify that the data is in the same state as when it was originally included as an immutable record on the blockchain.

[0389] Hierarchical deterministic key management

[0390] A deterministic key, Dk, is a private key initialized from a single "seed" key. The seed is a randomly generated number that acts as a master key. A hash function can be used to combine the seed with other data (e.g., an index number or "chain code") to derive a deterministic key. These keys are related to each other and can be fully recovered from the seed key. If users wish to use an external wallet in conjunction with the Metanet Browser Wallet, the seed also allows for easy import / export of wallets between different wallet implementations, providing additional flexibility.

[0391] Hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets are a well-known deterministic key derivation method. In an HD wallet, a parent key generates a series of child keys, which in turn generate a series of grandchild keys, and so on. This tree-like structure is a powerful mechanism for managing multiple keys.

[0392] In a preferred embodiment, HD wallets can be incorporated into Figure 16 In the meta-network architecture shown in .

[0393] The advantages of using an HD wallet include:

[0394] 1. The structure can use different branches of subkeys for different purposes to express additional organizational meaning. For example, users can dedicate different branches (and their corresponding subkeys) to different types of data.

[0395] 2. Security: Users can create a series of public keys without the corresponding private keys, making HD wallets receive-only and suitable for use on unsecured servers. Furthermore, since fewer secrets need to be stored, the risk of exposure is lower.

[0396] 3. Recovery If the key is lost / damaged, it can be recovered from the seed key.

[0397] Local (internal) and external wallet support

[0398] Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention can directly merge the functionality of a conventional web browser with one or more wallets. Fundamentally, this is how the metanet combines payment for "Internet" content with its delivery to end users.

[0399] To achieve this, an embodiment of the browser wallet may have a dedicated built-in software component that acts as a wallet. This wallet is local to the application itself and can be used to manage private keys and authorize transactions as payments for metanet content within the browser wallet itself.

[0400] This means that the browser component of the application can prompt the wallet component to authorize the required payment—by purchasing a decryption key, access token, or other means—in order to view the Metanet content. The application does not need to call an external third party to process the payment, so the Metanet content of interest is consumed and paid for locally by the application.

[0401] External wallet

[0402] If a user wishes to manage or store their private keys on an external wallet (software or hardware) or even use multiple wallets, the same advantages and functionality can be achieved through embodiments of the application. This can be performed instead of or in conjunction with the application's local wallet.

[0403] In such an embodiment, the application establishes a link or pairing with the external wallet and syncs with it, but does not store the private key in the browser wallet itself. Instead, when prompted by the browser component to pay for content, the application requests authorization via a digital signature from the selected external wallet. This authorization is made by the user, and the browser wallet can broadcast the transaction and view the paid content.

[0404] Read and write Metanet transactions

[0405] The fundamental advantage of the Metanet is that it uses the same data structure—the blockchain—to record both payments and content data. This means that software wallets can be used to write content data to the Metanet infrastructure.

[0406] The local wallet built into the application is capable of writing transactions to the blockchain that are more complex than typical Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) clients. The wallet allows users to choose to write Metanet node transactions directly from the application to the blockchain by selecting the content data to be embedded in the blockchain from their computer.

[0407] Because browser wallet applications have a user interface (UI), they allow the wallet component to create and broadcast transactions that include content data that has been pre-constructed in the browser component or on the user's computer. This functionality would be very difficult to achieve with a dedicated wallet that handles this on its own.

[0408] Access Key / Token Wallet

[0409] As mentioned earlier, built into the Metanet protocol is the ability to encrypt content using ECC key pairs or AES symmetric keys, as well as the ability to purchase corresponding decryption keys or tokens. We refer to these keys or tokens as access keys or access tokens.

[0410] These keys / tokens grant users permission to view or edit content (single use or multi-instance use) and serve a different purpose than the keys that control the user's wallet (although the same key can be used for both purposes if desired). For this reason, it is advantageous to introduce a new wallet for storing and managing access keys and tokens, separate from the application's local wallet.

[0411] It is also possible to introduce the concept of timed access to meta-network content by allowing access keys / tokens to be burned after a certain period of time. This can be achieved by requiring that the access keys / tokens be stored in a trusted execution environment (TEE) and not be directly accessible to the user.

[0412] The fact that access keys / tokens can be "burned" is also an incentive to not store them in a wallet to ensure there is no risk of private keys being burned.

[0413] In a similar manner to a wallet, decryption keys and access tokens can be deterministically stored and managed to facilitate efficient processing and deployment. Decryption keys (e.g., ECC private keys) can be generated and recovered through subsequent additions to the master key, while access tokens can be reconstructed using a hash chain seeded by some initial token.

[0414] It is important to distinguish here that wallets handle deterministic key generation for key pairs used to transact with other users and create new metanet nodes, while key / token wallets handle keys and tokens that have been purchased by the wallet.

[0415] Block height permission

[0416] Timelocks can be included in the scripting language to implement block height permissions. The op_code OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY(CLTV) sets the block height at which a transaction output (UTXO) is allowed to be spent.

[0417] The advantage of block height permissioning is twofold:

[0418] 1. Version Control - In the Metanet protocol, the latest version of a node can be identified by the node at the maximum block height. Browser wallets can be configured to display only the most recent version of a file by block height, thus implementing proof-of-work version control.

[0419] 2. Timed Access - The browser wallet application can periodically burn the decryption key purchased by the user at the atomic level. This ensures that viewers can only access the content data during the time period they have paid. Cloning of the decryption key can be prevented by storing it in a trusted execution environment (TEE). In addition, atomic swaps involve the purchase of a deterministic key Dk (used to decrypt the content data). Although this deterministic key is publicly visible, the TEE can be used to sign the combination of Dk and a securely enclave private key.

[0420] A browser wallet can be arranged to synchronize with the current state of the blockchain so as to use block height as its own proxy for time, rather than relying on any external clock or third-party time oracle.

[0421] Bypass network server

[0422] This invention allows browsers (clients) and web servers to communicate and exchange information over a distributed peer-to-peer internet that bypasses Domain Name System (DNS) servers and typical network routing procedures. See http: / / www.theshulers.com / whitepapers / internet_whitepaper / . This invention provides a new network architecture consisting of peers that maintain a full copy of the blockchain, from which content can be served to browser wallet applications.

[0423] Local full replica peer

[0424] Consider a system of local peers in each geographic area (e.g., zip code, town, city). We assume that within this local area network, at least one peer maintains a full copy of the blockchain, which we refer to as a local full copy peer (LFCP). For our purposes, the LFCP only needs to store blockchain transactions including the metanet flag, but is not limited to this.

[0425] By default, all users send 'get' requests to the LFCP. Since peers maintain a complete and up-to-date copy of the entire blockchain, all requests can be fulfilled, as any node ID queried will be available to the LFCP. It should be noted that a metanet search engine can also act as an LFCP, provided the SE is powerful and large enough to store metanet content and perform the primary functions of a typical SE.

[0426] In the simplest case, each LFCP will have the same storage and disk space overhead, as they will all need to be able to store the entire blockchain (approximately 200GB at write time). The difference between each LFCP is that the LFCP should scale its capabilities to respond to local requests from Metanet users. Therefore, if, by default, every Metanet user in the world queries its closest LFCP, each LCFP should strive to scale its operations to meet its local requirements. Densely populated areas, such as cities, will require LFCP operations involving many clustered servers, while sparsely populated areas, such as small towns, will require fewer LCFP operations.

[0427] It is important to note that the disk space requirements are generic, while the CPU requirements for each LFCP are adapted to the local area network needs. This is an example of an adaptive network, such as Freenet - see https: / / blockstack.org / papers / .

[0428] One advantage of such a system is that it is very convenient to retrieve a node When requesting the associated content, the user only needs a single (local) connection to its LFCP. The LFCP does not need to forward the request to other peers because it itself guarantees that it can provide the required content.

[0429] The Metanet offers many advantages over the Internet—for example, decentralization and deduplication—similar to other peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services such as IFPS. However, the Metanet improves upon these existing P2P models by ensuring immutability and, crucially, by removing the need to flood the network with requests for a given content.

[0430] By employing these peer networks, the meta-network infrastructure is also robust to the impairment of any one LFCP. This means that if an LFCP becomes inoperable, the end user simply defaults to the next closest LFCP. This can be more efficient if the LFCPs communicate with each other to indicate which nearby peers are below or above capacity for requests at any given time. This allows users to send their requests to the most appropriate peer and establish a dynamic balance of request distribution among nearby LFCPs.

[0431] Global full replica peers

[0432] Now consider the scenario when the general disk space requirements become too large for smaller peers, which can happen as the metanet portion of the blockchain scales and grows with adoption.

[0433] In this case, smaller LFCPs should use their disk space capacity to store metanet node transactions based on a popularity system (existing technology exists for ranking content by request volume and nature). This means that LFCPs now tailor both their CPU (for request processing power) and their storage allocation (for content serving power) to suit their local geographic needs in terms of both content volume and nature.

[0434] To address the fact that LFCP cannot currently store all meta-net transaction content, the concept of a Global Full Copy Peer (GFCP) can be used. GFCP is a full copy peer with the following properties:

[0435] 1. GFCP increases its disk space capacity so that it can always maintain a full copy of the blockchain.

[0436] 2. GFCP has considerable CPU resources, so that it can handle significantly more requests than LFCP. In the event that many LFCPs are damaged, the global full replica peers should be able to cope with the sudden increase in demand.

[0437] The GFCP has two primary functions. First, it serves as a failsafe for user requests for Metanet content when requests overflow from LFCPs. Second, the GFCP acts as an archive peer, storing all Metanet content mined historically. This ensures that even if many LFCPs omit certain content from their local storage feeds, any Metanet node can still access the content.

[0438] Global database (data bank)

[0439] The concept of GFCP is powerful and illustrates how the overall architecture of the MetaNetwork can provide solutions to existing problems; creating an all-encompassing global database.

[0440] Previously, it was impossible to securely construct a universal, globally accessible database because it required a central authority to maintain it. This central authority introduced points of failure and trust into the system. Crucially, if we rely on a single organization to store and maintain all internet data, we need to trust that organization to act correctly and legally, and not to corrupt information.

[0441] By using a metanet infrastructure, the trust and centrality issues are effectively removed from the concept of a global data center. Now, it is possible to create a GFCP that only relies on it to provide the disk space required for storage without verifying and authenticating the information to be stored.

[0442] Through the Metanet, the process of verifying stored content is performed by network nodes, so the universal global database can be trusted because it cannot tamper with blockchain information. The GFCP does not need to be trusted, it only needs to provide storage.

[0443] The fact that all GFCPs can store the same information that is always verifiable and provable against the blockchain itself means that information can be replicated between many such GFCPs.

[0444] This means that by having many global databases existing in parallel and provably storing the same information the problem of having a single point of failure is also solved.

[0445] Figure 17 A system with two LFCPs and one GFCP is shown, and explains how each peer can support the other peer in a network that is robust to impairments of the individual peers.

[0446] Aspects of the present invention, which may be implemented in the above-described embodiments of the browser wallet application, provide numerous distinguishing features and advantages over the prior art, including but not limited to:

[0447] 1. Deterministic Keys - Hierarchical deterministic key management for both tokens and metanet addresses is performed in the same wallet component of the application. This allows keys to be organized across multiple functions that reduce their storage requirements and enable key recovery.

[0448] 2. Payment Mechanism - This application allows consumers to pay merchants directly without having to go through another application or third-party payment service that would authenticate and provide trust as per convention. This allows the purchase and delivery of digital content to be conducted via the same blockchain platform. The advantages of this application include low-value exchanges or more complex transactions involving multiple parties.

[0449] 3. Bypass Web Server - This application facilitates bypassing the conventional web servers that would traditionally handle the bulk of the traffic, requests, and routing. This is because the application only needs to request content from a single LFCP, which ensures that the request does not need to be forwarded to other LFCPs to serve the user. This reduces the total traffic and the completion time of each request.

[0450] 4. Timed Access - The app facilitates timed access to content by syncing with the blockchain and using it to enforce access permissions based on its current state. This removes the need for third-party services to monitor user privileges over time while protecting the rights of the original owner.

[0451] Use Case - Decentralized App Store (Swapp Store)

[0452] The first use case of the Metanet architecture presented here (for illustrative purposes only) is decentralized payment and distribution for applications (apps).

[0453] Consider the following scenario: App developer Alice and consumer Bob wish to transact with each other. This transaction will take the form of an atomic swap, where a token is exchanged for a secret key that grants Bob access to the app's data. The encrypted app data has already been made public as part of the Metanet node transaction.

[0454] Applications exchanged at the atomic level are called Swapps. A third-party platform (Swapp Store) can be used to catalog and advertise applications that exist on the Metanet, but the payment and transfer of access keys to users (e.g., Bob) does not require any third party involvement and can be done directly between merchants and consumers.

[0455] The following sections detail the process from Alice creating an app to Bob deploying it for buying and selling Swapp. Throughout this process, Alice and Bob will use their respective browser wallets to interact with the Metanet.

[0456] release

[0457] 1. Alice writes an application. The data that makes up the application is <app>She also uses the secret key S k Encrypt it as<e(App)> .

[0458] 2. Alice creates a node transaction ID AliceApp To set up her first metadomain (tree), she generates 1AliceAppHtKNngkdXEeobR76b53LETtpy(P AliceApp ).

[0459] 3. Alice then creates children of the first node to form a tree that corresponds to her application's meta-network. Alice's tree domain is Figure 18 Shown in.

[0460] One of the leaf nodes in the tree corresponds to the node with index ID App Her application <app>In this node, Alice will encrypt the application data<e(App)> Inserted into the node's input script (scriptSig). Using the secret key s k To encrypt app data using the Koblitz method.

[0461] The node transaction is shown below.

[0462]

[0463] 4. Alice's public broadcast ID AliceApp 、P AliceApp and the domain name 'AliceApp'. This can be done via social media, an internet website or by using a third party metanet site.

[0464] Buy

[0465] 1. Bob wants to download a puzzle game and sees Alice’s app listed on the Metanet website (Swapp Store) that he views on his browser wallet.

[0466] 2. Bob then communicates with Alice using the information from the website and sets up an atomic swap. The swap is designed so that Bob will pay Alice the agreed-upon price and Alice will reveal the secret key s k , or none of these events occur.

[0467] 3. The atomic swap is completed, and Bob's browser wallet transfers the secret key s k Stored in their access key / token wallet.

[0468] deploy

[0469] Bob now has the key s that will allow him to decrypt the application data Alice previously published k To download the app and deploy it, Bob does the following.

[0470] 1. Bob uses the Metanet Search Engine (SE) to find the encrypted app data<e(App)> The associated MURL is generated. The keyword ‘AliceApp’ and ‘App’ are used as input in the search bar in the browser wallet. The third-party SE parses the query and returns the following MURL:

[0471] mnp: / / aliceapp / games / puzzle / app

[0472] This locator corresponds to a unique meta-network node ID App , this node includes encrypted app data in its input script.

[0473] 2. Bob’s browser wallet receives the MURL and sends a request to the nearest appropriate LFCP. This peer provides Bob with the requested data.<e(App)> .

[0474] 3. Browser wallet based on ID App This includes using the secret key s k Decrypt application data and process it <app>.

[0475] 4. Bob will apply <app>Download it from his browser to his computer. Now Bob can deploy the application locally without having to repurchase access.

[0476] Figure 19 The entire process outlined in the illustrative use case above is shown. The flowchart shows two branches of action: Alice's branch (starting on the left) and Bob's branch (starting on the right). The branch corresponding to Alice shows the initial issuance phase, and Bob's branch shows the phase of setting up the purchase via atomic swap.

[0477] On Bob's branch, he broadcasts the following transaction TxID Bob As the atomic swap setup phase:

[0478]

[0479] In this transaction, the output is locked by a private key puzzle that requires the secret decryption key s k Revealed to Bob so Alice can spend it.

[0480] Alice and Bob's branches in the diagram converge at the point where Alice successfully completes the atomic swap transaction. This happens when Alice broadcasts the transaction TxID Alice When achieving:

[0481]

[0482] Once this transaction is broadcast, Alice and Bob’s branches of action diverge again. Alice receives a payment of x tokens, while Bob receives the secret decryption key s k , and is able to retrieve and decrypt Alice's application from the Metanet.

[0483] Now turn Figure 20 , provides an illustrative simplified block diagram of a computing device 2600 that can be used to practice at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, the computing device 2600 can be used to implement any of the systems shown and described above. For example, the computing device 2600 can be configured to function as a data server, a network server, a portable computing device, a personal computer, or any electronic computing device. Figure 20 As shown, computing device 2600 may include one or more processors (collectively referred to as 2602) with one or more levels of cache memory and a memory controller, which may be configured to communicate with a storage subsystem 2606 including a main memory 2608 and a permanent storage device 2610. As shown, main memory 2608 may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 2618 and read-only memory (ROM) 2620. Storage subsystem 2606 and cache memory 2602 may be used to store information, such as details associated with transactions and blocks as described in this disclosure. Processor(s) 2602 may be used to provide the steps or functionality of any embodiment described in this disclosure.

[0484] The processor(s) 2602 may also communicate with one or more user interface input devices 2612 , one or more user interface output devices 2614 , and a network interface subsystem 2616 .

[0485] The bus subsystem 2604 may provide a mechanism for enabling the various components and subsystems of the computing device 2600 to communicate with each other as intended. Although the bus subsystem 2604 is shown schematically as a single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilize multiple busses.

[0486] The network interface subsystem 2616 may provide an interface to other computing devices and networks. The network interface subsystem 2616 may serve as an interface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systems other than the computing device 2600. For example, the network interface subsystem 2616 may enable a data technician to connect the device to a network, allowing the data technician to transmit data to and receive data from the device while being located at a remote location (e.g., a data center).

[0487] The user interface input devices 2612 may include one or more user input devices, such as a keyboard; a pointing device such as an integrated mouse, trackball, touchpad, or graphics tablet; a scanner; a barcode scanner; a touch screen incorporated into a display; an audio input device such as a voice recognition system, a microphone, or the like; and other types of input devices. In general, the use of the term "input device" is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for inputting information into the computing device 2600.

[0488] The one or more user interface output devices 2614 may include a display subsystem, a printer, or a non-visual display such as an audio output device. The display subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, or a projector, or other display device. In general, the use of the term "output device" is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for outputting information from the computing device 2600. The one or more user interface output devices 2614 may be used, for example, to present a user interface to facilitate user interaction with an application that performs the described processes and variations therein, when such interaction is appropriate.

[0489] The storage subsystem 2606 may provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing basic programming and data structures that may provide the functionality of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. When executed by one or more processors, applications (programs, code modules, instructions) may provide the functionality of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure and may be stored in the storage subsystem 2606. These application modules or instructions may be executed by one or more processors 2602. In addition, the storage subsystem 2606 may provide a repository for storing data used in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, the main memory 2608 and cache memory 2602 may provide volatile storage for programs and data. The permanent storage device 2610 may provide permanent (non-volatile) storage for programs and data and may include flash memory, one or more solid-state drives, one or more magnetic hard drives, one or more floppy disk drives with associated removable media, one or more optical drives (e.g., CD-ROM or DVD or Blue-Ray) with associated removable media, and other similar storage media. Such programs and data may include programs for executing the steps of one or more embodiments as described in the present disclosure and data associated with transactions and blocks described in the present disclosure.

[0490] The computing device 2600 can be of various types, including a portable computer device, a tablet computer, a workstation, or any other device described below. Additionally, the computing device 2600 can include another device that can be connected to the computing device 2600 via one or more ports (e.g., USB, a headphone jack, a lightning connector, etc.). The device that can be connected to the computing device 2600 can include multiple ports configured to accept fiber optic connectors. Thus, the device can be configured to convert optical signals into electrical signals that can be transmitted through the port connecting the device to the computing device 2600 for processing. Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, Figure 20 The description of the computing device 2600 depicted in FIG is intended only as a specific example for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the device. Figure 20 Many other configurations of the depicted systems with more or fewer components are possible.

[0491] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the present invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs in parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The words "comprising", "comprise" and the like do not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim or the specification as a whole. In this specification, "comprise" means "include or consist of", and "comprising" means "including or consist of". The singular form of an element does not exclude the plural form of such elements, and vice versa. The present invention can be implemented by hardware comprising several different elements and by a suitably programmed computer. In a device claim that lists several components, several of these components may be implemented by one and the same hardware. The fact that certain means are recited in different dependent claims does not mean that a combination of these means cannot be used to advantage.< / app> < / app> < / app> < / app> < / lzw> < / n> < / m> < / n> < / m> < / s> < / content> < / attributes>

Claims

1. A method for storing data on a blockchain, the method comprising: Generating a plurality of blockchain transactions, wherein each of the plurality of blockchain transactions stores therein: i) a corresponding portion of the first data to be stored on the blockchain; and ii) second data indicating that the parts of the first data are related to each other, the second data comprising a plurality of attributes, the attributes comprising data related to: a reorganization scheme for reorganization of said portion of said first data, and A flag for encoding the ordering and structure of the portion of the first data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein A corresponding digital signature is applied to the portion of the first data.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: At least some of the portions of the first data are each digitally signed by a single private key of a public-private key pair of a cryptographic system.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: At least some of the portions of the first data are each digitally signed by a corresponding private key of a public-private key pair of a cryptographic system, and the private keys are related to each other.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein: At least one of the digital signatures is based on a cryptographic system having a public-private key pair, wherein a private key of the public-private key pair is based on a plurality of prime numbers and a corresponding public key is based on a product of a plurality of the prime numbers.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: At least one of the digital signatures is a Rabin signature.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second data includes a hash of a reassembled portion of the first data.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first data is included in a plurality of first inputs and / or first outputs of a plurality of the blockchain transactions.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein At least one second input and / or at least one second output of at least one of the blockchain transactions comprises indication data, wherein the indication data indicates that the transaction includes the first data.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second data represents at least one attribute of the first data, and the at least one attribute is at least one of a data type, a data encryption scheme, a data compression scheme, index information, permission information, encoding information, keyword information, or search information of the first data.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first data is included only in at least one corresponding first output of the plurality of blockchain transactions.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein At least one first output and / or second output of at least one of the blockchain transactions includes a script opcode for marking the output as invalid for subsequent use as an input to a subsequent transaction.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Data compression is applied to the first data and / or the second data.

14. A system for storing data on a blockchain, comprising: processor; as well as A memory comprising executable instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to perform any embodiment of the computer-implemented method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions stored thereon, the executable instructions, when executed by a processor of a computer system, causing the computer system to perform at least an embodiment of the computer-implemented method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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