Provisions: Privacy-preserving proofs of solvency for Bitcoin exchanges
Event details
| Date | 25.11.2015 |
| Hour | 15:30 › 16:30 |
| Speaker | Joseph Bonneau |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Bitcoin exchanges function like banks, securely holding customer's bitcoins on their behalf. Several exchanges have suffered catastrophic losses with customers permanently losing their savings. A proof of solvency demonstrates cryptographically that the exchange controls sufficient reserves to settle each customer's account. This talk will describe Provisions, a privacy-preserving proof of solvency whereby an exchange does not have to disclose its Bitcoin addresses; total holdings or liabilities; or any information about its customers. Provisions can be extended to prevent exchanges from colluding to cover for each other's losses, as well as to enable features such as proving a positive surplus or enabling fractional-reserve banking. Provisions offers practical computation times and proof sizes even for a large Bitcoin exchange with millions of customers.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Bryan Ford
Contact
- Bryan Ford