FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of information technology, with specific focus on blockchain technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to blockchain operation and architecture, and methods and systems for extending the utility of a blockchain by systematically creating one or more new “child” blockchains that are initiated using a “net” state of its predecessor or “parent” blockchain to reduce the size of the current operational blockchain. The new child blockchains may operate using different scope, policies and/or procedures than their parents. The “parent” blockchains can then be archived to preserve the full historical integrity of the complete blockchain ledger.

BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION AND REVIEW OF CERTAIN PRIOR ART

One objective of blockchain solutions is to maintain a live transaction ledger that includes a complete history of every transaction recorded on the system. An original design aspect of blockchains, and as many are currently implemented, the blockchain is a write-once record that is designed not to be altered, but only be appended to. Accordingly, as blocks are added to the blockchain, the size of, or required memory to store the blockchain continues to grow. Eventually, some blockchains may grow so large that their sheer size and memory requirements compromise their usefulness.

More particularly, as blockchain ledgers grow over time, their size imposes burdens on the underlying information technology system. First, larger blockchains may require more time to execute a query. Second, for systems that use “miners” to verify the integrity of new blocks added to the blockchain, the burden of simply storing large and growing blockchains on their systems may tax the capabilities of the miners' systems—adding costs or complexities. Further, for new miners, the act of bootstrapping the entire blockchain record to be used in the consensus calculations may become an unwieldy and cumbersome task.

Because blockchain technology is new, most blockchains are still relatively small. But they continue to grow as they are used and record additional transactions and blocks. For perpetual markets such as cryptocurrencies, the continued growth of such blockchains may eventually either reduce their performance to unacceptable levels or drive the cost of storage for those, such as miners, who store the databases locally, beyond supportable ranges. To date, an approach has not been posited to solve this impending cost and complexity problem. Accordingly, the opportunity is ripe for an innovative solution to this problem, and for such a new system.

Separately, as blockchain technology continues to evolve, it may be beneficial to make changes in the way a blockchain is implemented and operates. For example, it might be beneficial to change the validation technique (e.g., mining) to enhance throughput at different stages of the blockchain's life. This might also be done to save money, or to leverage a common set of procedures with one or more other blockchains. Another potential benefit is that the new blockchain may implement different policies than the original or parent blockchain. Such different policies may relate to new scope, block schema, or block size. This may be difficult to do with an existing blockchain, but could be facilitated by creating a new child blockchain using the disclosed methodologies.

Similarly, it may be found that there is a benefit to creating interoperability between two blockchains that operate differently. For example, the logistics industry may recognize significant economies for all parties if it is able to consolidate multiple supply-chain-integrity blockchains developed by different industries into a single blockchain system. By combining the net states (e.g., the current state of the latest values for all keys ever included in the chain transaction log) of each separate industry blockchain to create a new single common blockchain operating under a single set of policies with a single user interface, the logistics companies would likely need to support only a single system to support a diverse clientele.

Alternatively, it may be advantageous to separate two or more types of transactions into different blockchains. For example, if one set of transactions tracked a cryptocurrency and another set tracked the provenance of art work, separating the two would allow each blockchain to grow at a slower rate. And there would be no loss in value from separating them because there may be no substantive relation between the two types of transactions.

The subject invention targets these problems and issues. The present inventive systems and methodologies review the current blockchain to create a “net” state of the assets tracked in the ledger. The system then uses this net state as the basis for creating a new child or related blockchain. The system further creates appropriate links between the new blockchain and the parent blockchain to ensure complete historical integrity of the full combined blockchain ledger.

Examples exist of certain systems designed to address this problem. One such method and system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/150,032, for Transferring Ledger Assets Between Blockchains Via Pegged Sidechains, submitted by Back et al. (the “'032 application” or “Back et al.”). The '032 application describes a process for transferring a single asset from a parent chain to a sidechain. The systems and methods disclosed relate specifically to a simplified payment-verification proof associated with the parent chain asset. More particularly, the described systems and methods in the '032 application appear to be limited to validation of a single parent chain asset thereby allowing for the creation of a corresponding sidechain asset. The '032 application does not disclose or suggest the creation of one or more entirely new child blockchains thereby allowing for the archiving of a related parent blockchain.

Another example of a related system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/809,062, for a System and Method for Creating a Multi-Branched Blockchain with Configurable Protocol Rules, submitted by Spanos et al. (the “'062 application” or “Spanos et al.”). Spanos et al. disclose an invention for creating a blockchain called a slidechain that allows for multiple valid branches or forks to propagate simultaneously with a customized set of protocol rules embedded in and applied to each fork chain that branches from another chain. What does not appear to be disclosed or suggested by Spanos et al. is any means for separating parent or predecessor blockchains for archiving purposes, or any means for linking any such separated parent blockchains to one or more new or subsequent child blockchains.

As described above, while systems have been created seeking to address the blockchain size and complexity problem, none appear to fully address all the related issues. Various embodiments of the current systems and methodologies disclosed herein provide a complete solution to the noted issues and problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and fulfills the needs described above by providing systems and methods for creating child blockchains without sacrificing the cryptographic integrity of either the parent or child blockchains, thereby providing a means to reduce the size of the working blockchain, and extending the working life and utility of large blockchains.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is a method for extending the utility of an information-technology blockchain, said method comprising the steps of (a) establishing a transformation protocol including at least one of the following:i. at least one set of criteria for selecting a plurality of transactions (“selected transactions”) from at least one information-technology blockchain (“parent blockchain”),ii. at least one set of criteria for identifying at least one destination information-technology blockchain (“child blockchain”),iii. at least one set of procedures for calculating a net state of said at least one parent blockchain;iv. at least one set of procedures for transforming said selected transactions to conform and be migrated to said at least one child blockchain,v. at least one set of procedures for creating at least one new block of transactions from said selected transactions to be migrated to said at least one child blockchain (“migration blocks”),vi. at least one set of procedures for validating any new blocks created for transformation to said at least one child blockchain,vii. at least one set of procedures for removing at least one block from said at least one parent blockchain, where said at least one block was appended to said at least one parent blockchain after said calculation of a net state of said at least one parent blockchain,viii. at least one set of procedures for creating anti-blocks to be appended to said at least one parent blockchain to reconcile removal of said at least one migration block from said at least one parent blockchain,ix. at least one set of procedures for re-validating said migration blocks removed from said at least one parent blockchain, and to be appended to said at least one child blockchain,x. at least one set of procedures for redirecting transactions, subsequent to any migration of transactions from said at least one parent blockchain, to blocks to be incorporated into said at least one child blockchain;(b) selecting at least one set of selected transactions from said at least one parent blockchain for migration to said at least one child blockchain, based on said at least one set of selection criteria;(c) calculating a “net state” of each set of selected transactions according to said transformation protocol; (d) creating at least one new block of transactions from said selected transactions to be migrated to said at least one child blockchain, according to said transformation protocol; (e) validating said created at least one new block of transactions, according to said transformation protocol; (f) appending said created and validated at least one new block of transactions to said at least one child blockchain, according to said transformation protocol; and (g) redirecting applicable transactions, after any migration of transactions from said at least one parent blockchain, to blocks to be incorporated into said at least one child blockchain.

A further preferred embodiment of the invention is a system for extending the utility of an information-technology blockchain, comprising (a) a first computer processor having machine-readable storage medium specifically configured to maintain and execute a transformation protocol of at least one of the following:i. at least one set of criteria for selecting a plurality of transactions (“selected transactions”) from at least one information-technology blockchain (“parent blockchain”),ii. at least one set of criteria for identifying at least one destination information-technology blockchain (“child blockchain”),iii. at least one set of procedures for calculating a net state of said at least one parent blockchain,iv. at least one set of procedures for transforming said selected transactions to conform and be migrated to said at least one child blockchain,v. at least one set of procedures for creating at least one new block of transactions from said selected transactions to be migrated to said at least one child blockchain (“migration blocks”),vi. at least one set of procedures for validating any new blocks created for transformation to said at least one child blockchain,vii. at least one set of procedures for removing at least one block from said at least one parent blockchain, where said at least one block was appended to said at least one parent blockchain after said calculation of a net state of said at least one parent blockchain,viii. at least one set of procedures for creating anti-blocks to be appended to said at least one parent blockchain to reconcile removal of said at least one migration block from said at least one parent blockchain,ix. at least one set of procedures for re-validating said migration blocks removed from said at least one parent blockchain, and to be appended to said at least one child blockchain,x. at least one set of procedures for redirecting transactions, subsequent to any migration of transactions from said at least one parent blockchain, to blocks to be incorporated into said at least one child blockchain;(b) at least one second computer processor having machine-readable storage medium specifically configured to execute the following methodology steps:i. selecting at least one set of transactions from said at least one parent blockchain for migration to said at least one child blockchain, based on said at least one set of selection criteria,ii. copying said at least one set of selected transactions from said at least one parent blockchain,iii. transmitting said at least one set of selected transactions to at least one third computer processor,iv. redirecting applicable subsequent transactions to said at least one third computer processor according to said transformation protocol,v. creating anti-blocks consisting of new transactions that reconcile removal of said at least one set of selected transactions from said at least one parent blockchain; and(c) at least one third computer processor having machine-readable storage medium specifically configured to execute the following methodology steps:i. receiving said at least one set of selected transactions from said at least one second computer processor,ii. calculating a “net state” of each said at least one set of selected transactions,iii. requesting of said at least one second computer processor identification of any additional transactions recorded by said at least one parent blockchain after calculation of said net state, according to said transformation protocol,iv. receiving said requested additional transactions,v. creating at least one new block of transactions from each at least one set of selected transactions, according to said transformation protocol,vi. validating said at least one new block of transactions for appending said at least one new block of transactions to said at least one child blockchain, according to said transformation protocol,vii. appending said identified and validated at least one new block of transactions to said at least one child blockchain, according to said transformation protocol.

