MPC Signing Abstraction Layers for Blockchain Protocol Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional MPC signing procedures face challenges such as the need to re-engineer platforms for new signing protocols and the decreasing reliability of secure broadcast channels, especially when serving non-traditional users from mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of additional abstraction layers in the production service for computing signatures during MPC signing procedures, which pushes enforcement of computational rounds and signing policy enforcements to user devices, thereby reducing the need for continuous secure broadcast channels and simplifying the process of adding new protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional MPC signing procedures use a single standardized signing protocol, then platform development efficiency is improved, but the platform requires re-engineering when transitioning to new signing protocols
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the signing protocol into multiple independent protocol handlers that can be selectively activated. Each signing protocol (e.g., MPC, ECDSA, EdDSA) is implemented as a separate module that can be independently configured and switched without affecting the core platform architecture. This allows the platform to support multiple protocols simultaneously and transition between them by simply changing configuration parameters rather than re-engineering the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform implements a universal signing interface that can accommodate multiple different signing protocols through a common abstraction layer. The coordination server and user devices communicate through standardized APIs that work with any supported signing protocol, making the platform multi-functional and adaptable to different cryptographic requirements without requiring separate implementation for each protocol.
2Reliability
If conventional MPC signing procedures rely on a secure broadcast channel, then signing security is maintained, but reliability decreases when serving non-traditional users from mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary coordination server that mediates the signing process between user devices and the blockchain network. Instead of requiring direct peer-to-peer secure broadcast channels between all user devices, the coordination server acts as a trusted intermediary that collects signing shares from multiple users, aggregates them, and submits the final signature to the blockchain. This eliminates the need for complex direct communication channels while maintaining security through the coordinated multi-party process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the secure broadcast channel requirement from the user devices and relocates it to the coordination server infrastructure. The heavy burden of maintaining secure real-time communication channels is taken out of the mobile device context and handled by the server-side coordination service, which has more robust communication capabilities. User devices only need to establish individual secure connections to the coordination server, which is much easier to implement on mobile devices.
3Device complexity
If MPC signing procedures enforce computational rounds on the platform, then signing policy enforcement is centralized, but system complexity increases when managing secure broadcast channels
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where user devices autonomously enforce their own signing policies and track their participation in computational rounds. Each user device maintains local state about the signing progress, validates incoming messages, and automatically proceeds with the next required action based on predefined policies. This distributes the enforcement logic from the platform to the individual devices, eliminating the need for the platform to centrally manage and track complex round-based computational states while maintaining reliable policy enforcement through local automation.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems described herein relate to an improved platform that provides secure, encrypted communications across distributed computer networks when coordinating cryptography-based digital repositories in order to perform blockchain operations in decentralized applications. More specifically, the methods and systems provide this improved platform by introducing additional abstraction layers into a production service for computing signatures during multi-party computation (MPC) signing procedures.