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Publication Number
US-11863305-B2
Publication Date
2024-01-02
Expiration Date
Abstract
Blockchain environments may mix-and-match different encryption, difficulty, and/or proof-of-work schemes when mining blockchain transactions. Each encryption, difficulty, and/or proof-of-work scheme may be separate, stand-alone programs, files, or third-party services. Blockchain miners may be agnostic to a particular coin's or network's encryption, difficulty, and/or proof-of-work schemes, thus allowing any blockchain miner to process or mine data in multiple blockchains. GPUs, ASICs, and other specialized processing hardware components may be deterred by forcing cache misses, cache latencies, and processor stalls. Hashing, difficulty, and/or proof-of-work schemes require less programming code, consume less storage space/usage in bytes, and execute faster. Blockchain mining schemes may further randomize byte or memory block access, further improve cryptographic security.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to blockchain mining using a proof-of-work algorithm in which the miner system receives blockchain transaction data and generates a hash value based on the received blockchain transaction data and an obtained nonce. The process identifies a location in a database table based on a random value, obtains a table entry at the identified location, and generates a randomized hash value using the obtained table entry. A proof-of-work output is produced if the generated randomized hash value meets a predetermined criterion.
A defining aspect of the invention is that the time delay in arriving at the proof-of-work output is based mostly on the hardware processor incurring at least one cache miss. This is tied to a cache memory that is smaller in size than the database table, where the database table includes randomly distributed table entries. The randomized hash value generation is therefore designed around randomized database access, including use of a randomized hash value derived from the obtained table entry.
The invention can employ repetition behavior and randomized selection behavior across cycles, including repeating proof-of-work steps when the randomized hash value does not satisfy the predetermined criterion. The method can determine a random value in an initial cycle based on a generated hash value, and in subsequent cycles based on at least one of a previous cycle’s randomized hash value and the previous cycle’s database-table location. The invention further specifies that hashing can use a SHA-256 encryption algorithm and that the predetermined criterion can be calculated using a difficulty algorithm, with an additional option for bit manipulation in the randomized hash value generation.
Claims Coverage
The patent includes three independent claims. Across these claims, the core coverage is a proof-of-work workflow that uses nonce-based hashing of transaction data combined with randomized selection from a larger-than-cache database table, producing proof-of-work output based on a predetermined criterion, with output timing tied mostly to cache misses.
Randomized proof-of-work using cache-miss driven delay
A miner system in a blockchain environment receives blockchain transaction data and performs a proof-of-work algorithm by obtaining a nonce, generating a hash value based on the received blockchain transaction data and the obtained nonce, identifying a location in a database table corresponding to a random value, obtaining a table entry at the identified location, generating a randomized hash value using the obtained table entry, and producing a proof-of-work output if the generated randomized hash value meets a predetermined criterion, wherein a time delay in arriving at the proof-of-work output is based mostly on the hardware processor incurring at least one cache miss due to a cache memory smaller in size than the database table.
Instruction-executing miner system with randomized table proof-of-work and cache-miss delay
A miner system associated with a blockchain environment comprises a database table with randomly distributed table entries and a hardware processor with a cache memory smaller in size than the database table, storing instructions that when executed perform operations including receiving blockchain transaction data and performing a proof-of-work algorithm by obtaining a nonce, generating a hash value based on the received blockchain transaction data and the obtained nonce, identifying a location in the database table corresponding to a random value, obtaining a table entry at the identified location, generating a randomized hash value using the obtained table entry, and generating a proof-of-work output if the generated randomized hash value meets a predetermined criterion, wherein a time delay in arriving at the proof-of-work output is based mostly on the hardware processor incurring at least one cache miss.
Memory structure for randomized table proof-of-work with cache-miss delay
A memory structure comprises a cache memory in a hardware processor and a non-cache memory, storing instructions that when executed perform operations that mine a blockchain block associated with a blockchain environment by receiving blockchain transaction data and performing a proof-of-work algorithm that obtains a nonce, generates a hash value based on the received blockchain transaction data and the obtained nonce, identifies a location in a database table larger than the cache memory containing randomly distributed table entries corresponding to a random value, obtains a table entry at the identified location, generates a randomized hash value using the obtained table entry, and generates a proof-of-work output if the generated randomized hash value meets a predetermined criterion, wherein a time delay in arriving at the proof-of-work output is based mostly on the hardware processor incurring at least one cache miss.
Across the independent claims, the inventive coverage centers on a randomized proof-of-work workflow that hashes transaction data with a nonce, derives a randomized hash value from a randomly selected database-table entry, checks a predetermined criterion to produce a proof-of-work output, and ties the output-arrival time mostly to cache misses caused by a cache memory smaller than the database table.
Stated Advantages
Reduced time delay is characterized as being based mostly on cache misses incurred by a processor whose cache is smaller than the database table.
Documented Applications
Mining a blockchain block associated with a blockchain environment using the described proof-of-work workflow.
CPU-based (democratic) mining is discussed in the document description.
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