Separating hashing from proof-of-work in blockchain environments
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Publication Number
US-12225107-B2
Publication Date
2025-02-11
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 concerns a proof-of-work method in a blockchain environment that receives electronic data comprising at least one blockchain transaction, hashes the electronic data to generate a hash value, and uses the hash value to execute a proof-of-work algorithm to generate a proof-of-work result. A time delay in generating the proof-of-work result is caused mostly by a cache miss.
In refined embodiments, executing the proof-of-work algorithm includes using a database table whose storage exceeds the storage capacity of a cache memory of the hardware processor. The method locates a position corresponding to a random value and retrieves a table entry from that position, and may repeat the database table access for a predetermined number of cycles.
The retrieved table entry is used to generate a randomized hash value in connection with executing the proof-of-work algorithm. Further embodiments include generating a difficulty value by executing a difficulty algorithm and determining whether the proof-of-work result satisfies a proof-of-work target scheme.
Claims Coverage
The provided claims include three independent claims, a proof-of-work method, a miner system, and a non-transitory memory storing instructions, that share the same core structure: hashing blockchain transaction data and generating a proof-of-work result with a time delay mostly caused by cache miss. The claim set further centers on database-table-driven randomized operations that induce cache-miss-dominated delay.
Cache-miss-caused time delay in proof-of-work result generation
A proof-of-work method in a blockchain environment, and corresponding miner system and stored-instructions configuration, generates a proof-of-work result where a time delay in generating the proof-of-work result is caused mostly by a cache miss.
Hashing blockchain transaction data to generate and use a hash value
The method receives electronic data comprising at least one blockchain transaction, hashes the electronic data to generate a hash value, and uses the hash value to execute a proof-of-work algorithm to generate a proof-of-work result.
Database table larger than cache capacity driving proof-of-work execution
The proof-of-work algorithm is executed using a database table whose storage exceeds the storage capacity of a cache memory of the hardware processor.
Random value-driven retrieval of database table entries
Using the database table includes locating a position corresponding to a random value and retrieving the table entry from that position.
Randomized hash value generation based on the retrieved table entry
Proof-of-work execution includes generating a randomized hash value using the obtained table entry.
The independent claims cover proof-of-work execution in a blockchain environment where hashing blockchain-transaction data is followed by proof-of-work generation with delay mostly caused by cache miss. The claim set further grounds inventive scope in executing proof-of-work using a database table larger than cache capacity, retrieving table entries via random-value-based location selection, and generating randomized hash values from the retrieved entries, with difficulty value generation and proof-of-work target satisfaction also stated.
Stated Advantages
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