The U.S.’s second-largest bank, Bank of America (BofA), has applied for another blockchain patenton the development of a secure crypto storage system, according to a patent document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) August 23. The patent, entitled “Block Chain Encryption Tags,” describes a system of recording and storing cryptocurrency-related transactions that […]

Professional services firm Accenture has filed a patent which seeks to enhance the speed and security of transactions on blockchains using patented hardware. Besides accelerating the software processes the technology described in the patent titled ‘Hardware Blockchain Acceleration’ will also improve the security of the applications supporting the transaction chains. Per Accenture, the need for the technology is driven […]

  Consulting giant Accenture has plans to use blockchain to upgrade its logisticsnetwork, a patent application published July 26 reveals. According to the document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the corporation wants to follow in the footsteps of various major players in leveraging blockchain to secure, speed up and increase the efficiency of logistics movements. “A device may […]

By Millenia Miller The world’s fourth-largest telecoms provider, Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), has filed a patent for using blockchain tech for contract agreement, according to a U.S. Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) release on July 19. NTT’s patent application writes that a problem with contracts on blockchain is that each transactions “contains only the electronic signature of the sender” as […]

Barclays, the UK’s biggest bank, has applied for three U.S. patents that collectively outline a system that uses blockchain technology to combine the pseudonymity of cryptocurrency with the legacy financial system and its KYC/AML regime. The London-based bank first applied for the three patents in July 2016, though they were only published by the U.S. […]

Bank of America (BoA) has filed a patent for a blockchain-based system allowing the external validation of data, according to a United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent filing released July 17. BoA’s patent filing proposes using blockchain for tracking resource information and confirming resource transfers, noting that “A need currently exists for providing a […]

Mastercard has been granted a patent that grants it rights for a method for “managing fractional reserves of blockchain currency.” With Mastercard’s latest patent, we’re getting closer to using our cryptocurrency credit cards to purchase goods. According to the filing, the method addresses the storing of both fiat and cryptocurrencies under one profile. This means, as […]

A newly-published patent application seeks to use blockchain technology to establish and maintain a chain-of-ownership for artwork. The patent application, which was published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday, lists the framework’s inventor as Howard H. Sheerin, a patent attorney in Scottsdale, AZ. According to Sheerin’s LinkedIn page, he now works in […]

By Arthur Swan The retail giant Walmart has been awarded a patent for a blockchain system which stores patient medical records in a highly secured database. This information can quickly be retrieved in an emergency situation if the patient is unresponsive with first responders. In order to secure the privacy of patients, medical information stored on […]