Polynomial Secret Exchange for Smart Contract Key Setup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blockchain-based smart contracts face challenges in securely sharing cryptographic material between multiple parties without exposing a shared secret, requiring cryptographic techniques and establishing verifiable communications channels.
Innovation Solution
A protocol for multi-party verification key recording on a blockchain that allows parties to exchange quantities to determine powers of a shared secret without encryption, using off-chain communications and polynomial interpolation to generate a common reference string.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cryptographic techniques and verifiable communications channels are used to share cryptographic material, then security is improved, but computational overhead and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shared secret is segmented into multiple shares using secret sharing schemes, where each party receives a portion that is useless alone but contributes to the whole. This allows secure cryptographic material sharing without requiring complex verifiable communication channels, as the segmented shares can be distributed independently through simpler means.
Solution Approach 2:
A trusted intermediary or pre-established trust relationship is used to initially distribute secret shares to parties. This intermediary approach eliminates the need for complex verifiable communication channels between all parties, as the trust is established once through the intermediary rather than continuously verified between all participants.
2Loss of information
If cryptographic techniques are used to share secrets, then confidentiality is maintained, but the complexity of the protocol increases
Solution Approach 1:
The secret is divided into multiple shares distributed to different parties. Each share alone reveals no information about the original secret, maintaining confidentiality while simplifying the protocol compared to requiring all parties to exchange and verify complex cryptographic proofs.
Solution Approach 2:
Secret shares are distributed in advance through a trusted intermediary before the main protocol execution. This preliminary distribution of shares simplifies the subsequent protocol, as parties already possess their confidential material without needing complex real-time verification exchanges.
3Reliability
If verifiable communications channels are established, then data confidentiality is assured, but the time and computational resources required increase
Solution Approach 1:
Verifiable communication channels or trusted relationships are established in advance to distribute secret shares. This preliminary verification eliminates the need for continuous complex verification during protocol execution, reducing time and computational resource requirements while maintaining data confidentiality.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the secret into shares that can be distributed through simpler channels, the system avoids the need for all parties to maintain complex verifiable communication channels with each other, thereby reducing time and computational overhead while preserving confidentiality through the segmented structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods described herein relate to techniques in which multiple parties each generate and exchange quantities that are based on a shared secret (e.g., powers of the shared secret) without exposing the shared secret. According to a protocol, two or more parties may exchange sets of elliptic curve points generated over polynomials that can be used, by each of the two or more parties, to determine a power of a shared secret. The protocol may be utilised as part of determining parameters for a smart contract that is broadcast to a blockchain network (e.g., Bitcoin). Based on the protocol, an additional party (e.g., a third party different from the two or more parties) may perform a computational task such as execution of the smart contract.