Blockchain methods, nodes, systems and products

Abstract

Proposed is a scalable and computationally light approach to validating blockchains called the Catastrophic Dissent Mechanism (CDM). CDM uses anonymous actors who are free to join and leave the system as they please. The mechanism gives all actors strong incentives to behave honestly, both as individuals, and as members of coalitions who might benefit in compromising the integrity of the blockchain. As a result, CDM offers users Strategically Provable Security (SPS). CDM provides a foundation to create an ecosystem of federated chains which can share heterogeneous tokens using different business logic. As a result, new instances of chains can be created to serve as inexpensive, scalable platforms for a wide variety of blockchain applications and to provide a path for existing instances to be upgraded or altered without the use of hard forks or breaking the rule that code is law.

1 - 69 . (canceled) 
     
     
         70 . A computer implemented method comprising executing, by one or more processors of a first node of a transaction network, the steps of:
 receiving an unverified transaction for processing by the transaction network to define a next block of a blockchain, the transaction network comprising a plurality of nodes including the first node;   determining whether the unverified transaction is a credible transaction;   bundling the credible transaction in a node transaction bundle with any other credible transactions received by the first node for the next block; and   transmitting the node transaction bundle to a hub node designated from the plurality of nodes, the hub node defining a hub transaction bundle from each node transaction bundle received from the plurality of nodes to communicate the hub transaction bundle to at least some of the plurality nodes for processing to define the next block.   
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 70  comprising:
 maintaining an instance of the blockchain; 
 determining a current ledger state of all accounts and records of the blockchain; and 
 providing an information interface to determine an honesty of the first node responsive to at least the current ledger state. 
 
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 71  comprising:
 receiving via the information interface an information request from a user computing device separate from the transaction network, the information request for information to determine node honesty for at least one of the plurality of nodes; 
 providing a reply with information to facilitate determination of the node honesty; and 
 wherein the unverified transaction comprises a user transaction received from the user computing device following the reply. 
 
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 70  comprising providing an active node list to identify of each of the plurality of nodes of the transaction network to facilitate determining node honesty within the transaction network. 
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 70  comprising receiving a proof of due diligence associated with the unverified transaction, the proof of due diligence indicating a computational determination of an honesty of the first node. 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein bundling the credible transaction comprises signing each credible transaction individually, bundling together the credible transactions as individually signed and signing the bundle before transmitting. 
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 70  comprising:
 receiving the hub transaction bundle from the hub node; and 
 processing each of the credible transactions in the hub transaction bundle to define the next block of the blockchain. 
 
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 70  comprising:
 accumulating credible transactions for the node transaction bundle; 
 stopping the accumulating in response to a commitment of a current block to the blockchain; and 
 transmitting the node transaction bundle responsive to the stopping. 
 
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 70  comprising determining the hub node, from the plurality of nodes, responsive to a hub designating smart contract or a hub designating rule set. 
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 70  comprising, in response to a designation of the first node as a hub node:
 receiving node transaction bundles from the transaction network; 
 confirming proper signing of the node transaction bundles and the credible transactions therein; 
 bundling the hub transaction bundle responsive to the confirming; and 
 transmitting the hub transaction bundle for processing by the transaction network to define the next block. 
 
     
     
         80 . A computing device comprising a processor and a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to perform the steps of:
 receiving an unverified transaction for processing by the transaction network to define a next block of a blockchain, the transaction network comprising a plurality of nodes including a first node defined by the computing device;   determining whether the unverified transaction is a credible transaction;   bundling the credible transaction in a node transaction bundle with any other credible transactions received by the first node for the next block; and   transmitting the node transaction bundle to a hub node designated from the plurality of nodes, the hub node defining a hub transaction bundle from each node transaction bundle received from the plurality of nodes to communicate the hub transaction bundle to at least some of the plurality nodes for processing to define the next block.   
     
     
         81 . A computing program product comprising a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the steps of:
 receiving an unverified transaction for processing by the transaction network to define a next block of a blockchain, the transaction network comprising a plurality of nodes including a first node defined by the computing device;   determining whether the unverified transaction is a credible transaction;   bundling the credible transaction in a node transaction bundle with any other credible transactions received by the first node for the next block; and   transmitting the node transaction bundle to a hub node designated from the plurality of nodes, the hub node defining a hub transaction bundle from each node transaction bundle received from the plurality of nodes to communicate the hub transaction bundle to at least some of the plurality nodes for processing to define the next block.