Verisign, a digital signing and security solutions provider has recently moved to patent a technology that prevents double spending. The technology in question can effectively detect and prevent digital assets like bitcoin and other cryptocurrency from being double spent, thus protecting the interests of the receiver.
Most digital currencies work using a single use cryptographic key. This key can be transferred only once for the transaction to be considered valid. When multiple transactions are conducted using the same cryptographic key, only one of these multiple transactions will be recognized and rest will be rejected automatically. This is an important feature which prevents people from taking an undue advantage of the digital asset by making multiple copies of the same cryptographic key and using it to conduct multiple transactions (after all ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ are the most widely used functions on any computer).
In the patent application , Verisign nowhere mentions that the technology is specifically meant for digital currency industry. The patent application, currently available for public to verify and raise any objections is titled “ Systems, Devices and Methods for Detecting Double Signing in a One-time Use Signature Scheme ”. The application, for a clear understanding of what the technology does, gives a detailed description of the possible use cases of this technology.
Cryptocurrency does makes it appearance multiple times in the application as it is one of the major sectors that need such solutions to prevent fraud. Thanks to the blockchain technology developed by Satoshi Nakamoto, a solution for double spend issue was first presented in the year 2008. The paper introducing Bitcoin to the world marked the first time in the history of digital currency where someone solved the double spend issue. However, in current day state, there are few challenges that prevent the inbuilt double spend proof feature […]
