This article in Coinbase describes the recent flurry of activity associated with Bank of America’s 20 Blockchain related patents:
“Bank of America filed three patent applications for distributed ledger technology (DLT) or Blockchain technology. First filed in February 2016, the details of the three applications were made available to the public last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
According to the document, the bank does not seem to have hit the target by filing the three apps as it plans to go big on Blockhain with 20 blockchain-related patents pending since 2016, previously filing for another 15 patents, including the one that allows utilizing digital currencies for sending funds across countries. This makes it appear like the Bank of America is trying not only stay on the forefront closely examining modern technologies, but to monopolize the industry in the long run.
The first patent called “System for Tracking and Validation of an Entity in a Process Data Network” utilizes Blockchain technology to track and validate a user’s identification. More particularly, the document details how a distributed database system would be able to update a new user’s identification information and, subsequently, store and time stamp additional details as time progresses.
The information, that can be stored and identified by the system, includes signatures, physical features and locations or addresses of a user. Authentication questions would then be generated based on a timeline, which could also be deployed by a third-party service to enable access for users.
The second patent, in its turn, involves a process that can be used to validate the changes made to a user identity, allowing the system to update and evolve that information over time.
The third patent application titled “System for Conversion of an Instrument From a Non-Secured Instrument to a Secured Instrument in a Process Data Network” involves a system or a computer program, which generates and uses a Blockchain distributed network to facilitate the conversion of an instrument into an authenticated secured instrument. Or, in more simple words, the third patent app is designed to convert unsecured “instruments” through a validation process.
To sum up, these applications may suggest that the US-based bank sees blockchain as a way to validate not only the people who are using a system, but also the information within it as well.”
Despite all this activity the article points out that none of these patents have yet been approved but most people would probably like to know if Bank of America intends to build a solution that utilizes any of these patents, because a patent does not imply a product is forthcoming.
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group
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