Abstract
Time-release cryptography is a special encryption technique that allows a message to be hidden for some time. The previous schemes have shortcomings in that the encryptor should predict the decryptor’s computing power precisely or the trusted agent should be always available. In this paper, we propose a new, practical time-release blockchain, and find the key to decrypt the content after a certain time. In order to verify the effectiveness of the blockchain system automatically, which uses the proof-of-work (PoW) and the consensus algorithm in the the proposed technique, we have implemented a prototype version of our blockchain system using Python. The proposed method has the following advantages. First, the decryption time is automatically adjusted, even if the miner’s computing power changes over time. Second, unlike previous time-lock puzzle schemes, our algorithm does not require additional computation work for solving the puzzle. Third, our scheme does not need any trusted agents (third parties). Fourth, the proposed method uses standard cryptographic algorithms.
Highlights
Time-release cryptography can be classified into two categories [1]
Even though we focus on the explanation of Bitcoin, which is the biggest blockchain network [3,5,6], other blockchain systems are roughly similar to Bitcoin
3) Voting transaction: Each voter encrypts his/her voted ballot using the public keys in the timerelease blockchain such that confidentiality is kept until the deadline
Summary
Time-release cryptography can be classified into two categories [1]. The first is called “time-lock puzzles” whereby the encryptor assumes that the decryptor will continue to perform non-parallel operations to solve puzzles. The encryptor creates a computational puzzle that requires a precise amount of time to solve. The second is called “trusted decryption agents,” where trusted agents provide keys to decryptors for decryption on specified dates [2]. The former method is disadvantageous in that it requires too much computation and the encryptor should predict the decryptor’s computing power precisely. To overcome the shortcomings of the time-lock puzzles, we present a new and practical time-release blockchain, which uses the proof-of-work (PoW). Unlike previous time-lock puzzles, our scheme does not require additional computation work for solving the puzzle.
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