A fast cryptocurrency transaction system and method based on merchant alliance

Abstract

The present invention discloses a fast transaction system and method of cryptocurrency based on merchant alliance, and the system includes a data module, a merchant alliance module, a chip transaction module, a flexible settlement module and a status synchronization module. The data module provides a data structure basis for the merchant alliance transaction method. The merchant alliance module provides alliance establishment services for market managers and alliance joining services for merchants. The chip transaction module uses a chip mechanism to provide daily transaction services for merchants and consumers. The flexible settlement module decouples merchant settlement from consumer settlement and provides transaction settlement services for merchants and consumers. The status synchronization module provides merchants with consumer chip information synchronization services to help merchants obtain the latest chip information. By establishing a new merchant alliance system, the present invention does not require both parties to the transaction to pay additional funds, reduces the blockchain transaction fee in the transaction, and provides technical support for the use of cryptocurrency in the field of daily payment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of blockchain, and relates to a cryptocurrency trading system and method, and specifically to a cryptocurrency fast trading system and method based on a merchant alliance. Background Art

[0002] Cryptocurrencies based on blockchain have a very high market value in the market. As of November 2021, the total market value of cryptocurrencies exceeds 3 trillion US dollars. As a currency, it can naturally play a role in the payment field. Payment giant PayPal announced that it would allow users to pay merchants with cryptocurrencies. Dell, Steam, and Tesla also accept cryptocurrency payments. However, due to the problems of blockchain itself, Steam and Tesla subsequently announced that they would stop accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method. In daily life, there are almost no trade markets that accept cryptocurrencies.

[0003] Expanding the use of cryptocurrencies to everyday payments remains difficult, as current blockchains have the following limitations:

[0004] High latency in payment confirmation.

[0005] High handling fees, also known as blockchain network transaction fees. The blockchain network is maintained by many distributed nodes, which are responsible for packaging transactions and sending them to neighboring network nodes to ensure the openness and transparency of information. Nodes will spend certain resources when packaging transactions and broadcasting this information, so when users conduct transactions, they will pay a certain amount of additional transaction fees for each transaction.

[0006] In actual payment scenarios, merchants need to complete consumer payment confirmation within 2 seconds. In addition, since daily payment scenarios often involve high-frequency small-amount transactions, sometimes the transaction fee is higher than the transaction amount. For both parties to the transaction, the high transaction fee is obviously unacceptable, and existing solutions rarely deal with this issue.

[0007] Some existing solutions attempt to transfer on-chain payment behavior to off-chain to solve the problem of high latency in payment confirmation. In the state channel, both parties pay the transaction deposit fee in advance, then conduct the transaction off-chain, update the status of both parties, and finally summarize and settle on the chain. However, since it takes a certain amount of time to establish a state channel, if you want to shorten the payment confirmation time, consumers must establish state channels with all potential transaction partners in advance and lock a deposit in each channel, which undoubtedly raises the threshold for the use of cryptocurrency in daily payment scenarios.

[0008] In response to this problem, the literature proposed the Snappy solution and made some optimizations. This solution forms an alliance between merchants. Consumers only need to deposit a certain amount of margin in advance and ensure that the total amount of unlisted transactions is less than the margin in subsequent transactions. At the same time, in order to avoid collusion between consumers and merchants, Snappy requires merchants to deposit the same amount of margin. However, in the trade market, there are a large number of consumers, and each merchant has a large amount of funds used as margin, which increases the financial pressure on merchants.

[0009] In summary, the application of cryptocurrency in daily payment scenarios needs to meet the following requirements: a) Merchants can confirm that they can receive transaction funds in a short time. b) Merchants and consumers do not need to prepare additional funds. c) Transaction fees should be reduced as much as possible. Summary of the invention

[0010] In order to realize the rapid transaction of cryptocurrency, the present invention proposes a rapid transaction system and method of cryptocurrency based on merchant alliance.

[0011] The technical solution adopted by the system of the present invention is: a cryptocurrency fast transaction system based on merchant alliance, including a data module, a merchant alliance module, a chip transaction module, a flexible settlement module and a status synchronization module; each module has specific content, performs corresponding functions, and jointly provides cryptocurrency fast transaction services;

[0012] The data module is used to store consumer status data and merchant status data. The consumer status data includes the current transaction status and remaining funds of the consumer, and the merchant status data includes the current amount of funds that the merchant can withdraw. The consumer status data is updated and maintained by the consumer and the merchant, and the merchant status data is updated and maintained by the smart contract.

[0013] The merchant alliance module is used to provide alliance establishment and joining services for market managers and merchants, and to form an alliance relationship between merchants with cryptocurrency trading needs, so that consumers only need to form a state channel with the alliance to complete fast transactions with any merchant in the alliance, shortening the payment confirmation time;

[0014] The chip transaction module is used to provide daily transaction services for merchants and consumers. The module uses chips to represent the consumer's fund transaction status. Merchants use chips to determine whether the consumer's remaining funds are sufficient to complete the transaction, and consumers do not need to pay extra funds.

[0015] The flexible settlement module is used to provide transaction settlement services for merchants and consumers. This module decouples merchant settlement from consumer settlement process to achieve separate settlement for consumers and merchants; it provides more flexible settlement methods for both parties to the transaction, reduces the number of blockchain transaction settlements, and thus reduces blockchain transaction fees;

[0016] The status synchronization module is used to provide merchants with consumer chip information synchronization services, including transaction status synchronization information and settlement status synchronization information. This module helps merchants obtain the latest chip information and ensures that merchants can determine whether transactions can be carried out based on the latest chip information.

[0017] The technical solution adopted by the method of the present invention is: a method for fast cryptocurrency trading based on merchant alliance, including merchant alliance construction, chip trading, flexible settlement and status synchronization process;

[0018] The merchant alliance construction is specifically implemented by the following steps:

[0019] (1) Market managers deploy and create smart contracts in the cryptocurrency fast trading system;

[0020] (2) Smart contracts randomly create public and private keys to ensure data reliability;

[0021] (3) The smart contract creates the initial merchant state Sig, where Sig represents the smart contract signature;

[0022] (4) The merchant sends a joining application to the smart contract, along with the merchant’s signature and account address;

[0023] (5) After the smart contract verifies the signature, it updates the merchant status (Sig, (pk i ,0)), using the account address as the merchant identifier; where pk i Represents the public key of merchant i, and 0 represents the withdrawable funds of merchant i;

[0024] (6) The smart contract signs the merchant status related to the merchant and sends it to the corresponding merchant for verification.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present invention are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

[0026] (1) The present invention designs a new merchant alliance solution to form an alliance among merchants with cryptocurrency transaction needs, which can effectively shorten the payment confirmation delay.

[0027] (2) The present invention designs a chip trading mechanism, which uses the chip mechanism to replace the existing margin mechanism, so that users no longer need to prepare additional funds, thereby lowering the threshold for using cryptocurrency in daily payments.

[0028] (3) The present invention designs a flexible settlement mechanism that decouples consumer settlement from merchant settlement, temporarily stores the funds obtained from merchant transactions in smart contracts, and completes merchant settlement transfers only when the merchant needs to withdraw funds, thereby reducing the number of blockchain transactions and lowering blockchain transaction fees. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 It is the system principle diagram of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 It is the overall framework diagram of the system of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a flow chart of the merchant alliance method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a flow chart of the chip trading method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a flow chart of a flexible settlement method in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 6 The following is a flow chart of a state synchronization method in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to facilitate the understanding and implementation of the present invention by those skilled in the art, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the implementation examples described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0036] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2The invention provides a cryptocurrency fast transaction system based on merchant alliance, including a data module, a merchant alliance module, a chip transaction module, a flexible settlement module, and a status synchronization module; the data module is used to provide a data basis for the cryptocurrency fast transaction system; the merchant alliance module is used to provide alliance suggestions and joining services for market managers and merchants; the chip transaction module is used to provide cryptocurrency fast transaction services for traders, and the consumer status is used to record the consumer's transaction status during the transaction process, and the merchant determines whether the consumer's remaining funds are sufficient to support the transaction based on the consumer status; the flexible settlement module is used to provide consumers and merchants with more convenient settlement services, decouple consumer settlement from merchant settlement, and temporarily store the funds obtained from merchant transactions in smart contracts. Only when the merchant needs to withdraw funds, the merchant settlement transfer is completed, thereby reducing the number of blockchain transactions and reducing blockchain transaction fees; the status synchronization module is used to synchronize consumer status between merchants, between smart contracts and users, synchronize the latest consumer status during transactions, and enable smart contracts to know the latest consumer status during settlement.

[0037] In this embodiment, the data module is used to provide a data structure basis for the merchant alliance transaction method, and defines the data format in the method, including two data structures: consumer status and merchant status. It provides a data structure basis for the cryptocurrency transaction method, which is used to record the transaction status of each party and provide data support for transactions and settlements. Among them, the consumer status records the current transaction status and remaining funds of the consumer. When the merchant trades, the merchant determines whether the remaining funds of the consumer are sufficient to support the transaction based on the latest consumer status. The smart contract completes the fund allocation based on the consumer status during settlement. The consumer status is updated and maintained by the consumer and the merchant. The consumer status records the amount of funds that can be withdrawn by each merchant. The merchant status is updated and maintained by the smart contract.

[0038] The invention provides a merchant alliance-based cryptocurrency fast transaction method, which includes merchant alliance construction, chip transaction, flexible settlement and status synchronization process.

[0039] Please see Figure 3 In this embodiment, a merchant alliance is constructed with n merchants in total. The specific process includes the following steps:

[0040] Step 1: The market manager deploys and creates a smart contract in the cryptocurrency fast trading system;

[0041] The smart contract used in this embodiment is an existing blockchain technology, which is an executable code written in the blockchain and can be regarded as a trusted executor.

[0042] Step 2: The smart contract randomly creates public and private keys to ensure the reliability of the data.

[0043] Step 3: The smart contract creates the initial merchant state (Sig), where Sig represents the smart contract signature.

[0044] Step 4: The market merchant sends a joining application to the smart contract, along with the merchant’s signature and account address.

[0045] Step 5: After the smart contract verifies the signature, it updates the merchant status (Sig, (pk i ,0)), using the account address as the merchant identifier; where pk i Represents the public key of merchant i, and 0 represents the withdrawable funds of merchant i.

[0046] Step 6: The smart contract signs the merchant status related to the merchant and sends it to the corresponding merchant for verification.

[0047] Please see Figure 4 The chip transaction of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0048] Step 1: The consumer sends a signature to the smart contract and transfers the expected expenditure funds V.

[0049] Step 2: The smart contract creates the corresponding initial consumer state (Sig, V, 0, …, 0), indicating that the remaining funds of the consumer are V, and the transaction amounts with other merchants are all 0. The initial consumer state is signed to prevent malicious users from forging the consumer state.

[0050] The bargaining chip in this embodiment is the consumer status.

[0051] Step 3: The smart contract synchronizes the consumer status to the merchant.

[0052] Step 4: Consumer pays merchant V j When the consumer updates the consumer status, the remaining amount of the consumer and the corresponding merchant transaction amount need to be updated. The updated consumer status is (Sig, VV j , 0, …, V j ,…,0), and sign the consumer status;

[0053] Step 5: The merchant verifies the latest consumer status and determines whether the change in the consumer's remaining balance is equal to the change in its own balance, while ensuring that only the merchant and the consumer's funds have changed.

[0054] Please see Figure 5 The state synchronization of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0055] Step 1: The transaction merchant broadcasts the consumer status to other merchants.

[0056] Step 2: Other merchants verify the consumer's status.

[0057] Step 3: The user sends the latest consumer status to the smart contract.

[0058] Step 4: The smart contract verifies the latest consumer status.

[0059] Please see Figure 6 The flexible settlement of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0060] Step 1: The consumer sends a settlement request to the smart contract.

[0061] Step 2: The smart contract performs security synchronization during settlement and determines the consumer status based on the majority principle;

[0062] In this embodiment, based on the majority principle, merchants in the alliance send consumer status to the smart contract. Since honest merchants account for the majority in the alliance (this is a safety assumption), the smart contract can obtain the correct consumer status.

[0063] Step 3: The smart contract returns the remaining funds to the consumer.

[0064] Step 4: The smart contract updates the merchant status (Sig, (pk1,0), …, (pk i ,V j ),…,(pk n ,0));

[0065] Step 5: The smart contract sends the new merchant status to the corresponding merchant for confirmation.

[0066] Step 6: The merchant submits a settlement request to the smart contract.

[0067] Step 7: After the merchant application is verified, the smart contract transfers funds to the merchant based on the merchant status.

[0068] Step 8: Smart contract updates merchant status (Sig, (pk1, 0), ..., (pk n ,0)).

[0069] The present invention can provide:

[0070] 1. Merchant alliance method: This method connects merchants with cryptocurrency trading needs in the market into an alliance. It can effectively shorten the payment confirmation delay.

[0071] 2. Chip trading method: used to provide traders with fast cryptocurrency trading services. During the transaction process, the consumer status is used to record the consumer's transaction status. Merchants use the consumer status to determine whether the consumer's remaining funds are sufficient to support the transaction.

[0072] 3. Flexible settlement method: used to provide more convenient settlement services for consumers and merchants, decouple consumer settlement from merchant settlement, temporarily store the funds obtained from merchant transactions in smart contracts, and complete merchant settlement transfers only when the merchant needs to withdraw funds, thereby reducing the number of blockchain transactions and reducing blockchain transaction fees.

[0073] 4. Status synchronization method: used to synchronize consumer status between merchants, between smart contracts and users, synchronize the latest consumer status during transactions, and enable smart contracts to know the latest consumer status during settlement.

[0074] It should be understood that the above description of the preferred embodiment is relatively detailed and cannot be regarded as limiting the scope of patent protection of the present invention. Under the enlightenment of the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field can also make substitutions or modifications without departing from the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention, which all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection requested for the present invention shall be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A method for fast cryptocurrency transactions based on merchant alliance, characterized by: Including merchant alliance building, chip trading, flexible settlement and status synchronization process; The merchant alliance construction is specifically implemented by the following steps: (1) Market managers deploy and create smart contracts in the cryptocurrency fast trading system; (2) Smart contracts randomly create public and private keys to ensure the reliability of data; (3) The smart contract creates the initial merchant status; (4) The merchant sends a joining application to the smart contract, along with the merchant’s signature and account address; (5) After the smart contract verifies the signature, it updates the merchant status (Sig, (pk i ,0)), using the account address as the merchant identifier; where pk i Represents the public key of merchant i, 0 represents the withdrawable funds of merchant i; Sig represents the smart contract signature; (6) The smart contract signs the merchant status related to the merchant and sends it to the corresponding merchant for verification; The chip transaction is specifically implemented by the following steps: (1) The consumer sends a signature to the smart contract and transfers the estimated expenditure funds V; (2) The smart contract creates the corresponding initial consumer state (Sig, V, 0, …, 0), indicating that the remaining funds of the consumer are V, and the transaction amount with other merchants is 0. The initial consumer state is signed to prevent malicious users from forging the consumer state; the consumer state is the bargaining chip; (3) The smart contract synchronizes the consumer status to the merchant; (4) Consumer pays merchant i V j When the consumer updates the consumer status, including the remaining amount of the consumer and the corresponding merchant transaction amount, the updated consumer status is (Sig, VV j ,0,…,V j ,…,0), and sign the consumer status; (5) The merchant verifies the latest consumer status and determines whether the change in the consumer's remaining balance is equal to the change in its own balance, while ensuring that only the merchant and the consumer's funds have changed; The state synchronization is specifically implemented by the following steps: (1) The transaction merchant broadcasts the consumer status to other merchants; (2) Other merchants verify the consumer’s status; (3) The user sends the latest consumer status to the smart contract; (4) Smart contract verifies the latest consumer status; The flexible settlement is specifically implemented by the following steps: (1) The consumer sends a settlement request to the smart contract; (2) When the smart contract settles, the status is securely synchronized and the consumer status is determined based on the majority principle; (3) The smart contract returns the remaining funds to the consumer; (4) The smart contract updates the merchant status according to the consumer status (Sig, (pk1,0), ..., (pk i ,V j ),…,(pk n ,0)); (5) The smart contract sends the new merchant status to the corresponding merchant for confirmation; (6) The merchant submits a settlement application to the smart contract; (7) After the merchant’s application is verified, the smart contract transfers funds to the merchant based on the merchant’s status; (8) Smart contract updates merchant status (Sig, (pk1, 0),…, (pk n ,0)).

2. A fast cryptocurrency transaction system based on merchant alliance, used to implement the method described in claim 1; characterized in that: Including data module, merchant alliance module, chip transaction module, flexible settlement module and status synchronization module; The data module is used to store consumer status data and merchant status data, wherein the consumer status data includes the current transaction status and remaining funds of the consumer, and the merchant status data includes the amount of funds currently available for withdrawal by the merchant; The consumer status data is updated and maintained by the consumer and the merchant, and the merchant status data is updated and maintained by the smart contract; The merchant alliance module is used to provide alliance establishment and joining services for market managers and merchants, and to form an alliance relationship between merchants with cryptocurrency trading needs. Consumers only need to form a status channel with the alliance to complete a quick transaction with any merchant in the alliance; The chip transaction module is used to provide transaction services for merchants and consumers. The chips are used to represent the consumer's fund transaction status. The merchant uses the chips to determine whether the consumer's remaining funds are sufficient to complete the transaction, and the consumer does not need to pay additional funds. The flexible settlement module is used to provide transaction settlement services for merchants and consumers, and realize separate settlement for consumers and merchants by decoupling merchant settlement from consumer settlement processes; The status synchronization module is used to provide merchants with consumer chip information synchronization services, including transaction status synchronization information and settlement status synchronization information. Merchants obtain the latest chip information and determine whether the transaction can be carried out based on the latest chip information.

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