Charles H. Miller
Like many other major corporations, Apple is looking to enter the blockchain craze. The Cupertino-based giant has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to potentially use the technology for creating and verifying timestamps.
The application details a program able to certify timestamps by combining aspects of blockchain technology with Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) tools.
Apple is seemingly looking to tie a piece of information to a particular transaction on a blockchain, establishing the state of that data at a particular point in time. From there on, if that information needs to be changed, additional transactions can be created that detail changes to the data.
The filing talks about three different methods for establishing timestamps, one of which is centered around a blockchain platform. In that scenario, the program would generate a block with a timestamp, and every subsequent block would be added as miners verify each transaction conducted on the chain.
This system is part of what the iPhone maker calls the “multi-check architecture,” with another system confirming the timestamp before it is added to the chain.
It’s all about security
Apple’s patent has little to do with the general public, and could rather — at some point — find its way in an offering made for the company’s enterprise clientele. Cook & Co. may decide to use blockchain due to its decentralized security features.
As the document notes:
If any party attempts to alter a node some time earlier in the blockchain, each hash puzzle solution for block subsequent to the altered block becomes broken or incorrect. Each participant can see that such a broken blockchain does not agree with their own copy of the blockchain. The broken blockchain is thus not recognized by the nodes.
Apple adds that using a decentralized ledger to store timestamps not only maintains time properly, but also makes the network protected from corruption if a single node is compromised by malicious actors.
What about end-users?
Apple, after all, is primarily a consumer electronics company — as well as a major service provider — which is mainly targeting end users.
Previously, we argued that the iPhone maker may be working on a cryptocurrency of its own. That hint came from the new Apple Wallet option, Apple PayCash, which enables users to seamlessly send money to one another. Adding some virtual token to the equation could make a lot of sense, especially if this service rolls out to internationally and allows users to conduct transactions in different currencies. An intermediary token could be used to settle accounts between multiple currencies. And that token, we argued, may be called the iCoin.
Also, there is the fact that Apple has more money than many countries, and that power could be used to run its own monetary system, which would be used by all the iUsers around the world.
Mind you, that’s just we speculating, but that kinda makes sense. You know how they say – with great power comes, great… opportunity? 😉
