Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are changing how the world interacts with respect to value transactions. With an increased global interest in cryptocurrencies, questions of patentability are surfacing as institutions, companies and individuals seek to profit off inventive applications of the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies – the blockchain.
Blockchain is a system in which “direct” digital transactions occur without relying on a single centralized database. In other words, blockchains avoid the trusted middleman that most transactions require by having the authentication performed over a peer-to-peer network. Blockchain technology allows participants to create an immutable record in a public ledger on multiple computers, so that participating entities can agree on and be certain that a particular event has occurred. The decentralized nature – with no single data centre – is highly appealing, particularly in the context of value transactions given the difficulty for attackers to disrupt or corrupt the entire system.
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