Blockchain Digital Coin Double-Spending Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital coin systems are susceptible to double-spending, which has prevented their widespread adoption due to the ease of duplicating and spending the same digital coin again.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based digital coin system where each digital coin is issued with a unique serial number, and a database is maintained to track spent coins, preventing double-spending by ensuring that coins can only be spent if their serial number is not already recorded as spent, and utilizing hash functions to reveal the serial number in transactions, thereby preventing double-spending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital coins are issued without serial number tracking, then the system is simpler to implement, but the system becomes susceptible to double-spending attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by maintaining a database of spent coin serial numbers before transactions are processed. When a digital coin is spent, its serial number is recorded in advance in the database, allowing the system to prevent double-spending by checking whether the serial number already exists in the database before accepting the transaction. This proactive tracking mechanism ensures reliability by preventing fraudulent transactions before they can occur.
2Reliability
If coin serial numbers are stored in clear text in transactions, then verification is simpler, but security is compromised as serial numbers become visible on the blockchain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by storing only a hash (cryptographic copy) of the coin serial number in the blockchain transaction rather than the serial number itself. The hash function creates a unique fingerprint of the serial number that can be verified for authenticity but cannot be reversed to reveal the original serial number. This allows the system to maintain security by keeping serial numbers hidden while still enabling verification of coin authenticity through hash comparison against the database of spent coins.
3Reliability
If the system checks the blockchain for every spending transaction, then double-spending detection is more thorough, but transaction processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies taking out by extracting the essential verification information (spent serial numbers) from the entire blockchain and storing it in a separate, easily accessible database. Instead of searching through the entire blockchain history for every transaction, the system maintains a curated database of spent coin serial numbers that can be queried quickly. This separation allows thorough double-spending detection by checking against the comprehensive spent coins database while minimizing transaction processing time through efficient database lookups rather than full blockchain scans.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for implementing a system for issuing digital coins using a blockchain, wherein each digital coin is issued by an issuing party and represents an amount of an asset redeemable by a redeeming party in exchange for the digital coin, wherein the issuing party maintains a record of coin serial numbers, each coin serial number representing a respective digital coin; the method being performed by the issuing party and comprising: obtaining a spending transaction comprising a first one of a set of coin serial numbers; determining whether the first coin serial number is present in the database; and in response to one or more conditions being met, transferring the amount of the asset represented by the first coin serial number to the redeeming party, wherein a first one of the conditions is that the first coin serial number is not present in the database.