Mastercard Blockchain Patent Would Support Multiple Currencies

Mastercard has been awarded a patent for a proposed blockchain system that would support multiple types of currency.

According to Coindesk, the patent describes how a firm may need to store different types of transaction data on the same platform, which is difficult to do on a single blockchain. So Mastercard wants to implement a method to create a blockchain that enables different blocks that can store different types of information.

Filed in July 2016, the patent goes on to explain that “the transaction records stored in the blocks comprising a blockchain are often required to be of the same format and include the same types, and sometimes even sizes, of data.” Yet “in the case of an entity that wants to use multiple types of blockchains, such as a different blockchain for several different currencies,” multiple blockchain platforms might need to be utilized.

“There is a need for a technological solution to provide a partitioned blockchain that is capable of storing multiple transaction formats and types in a single blockchain, reducing the computing resources and processing power required for deployment and operation of the blockchain, while also providing for enhanced usage of permissions for permissioned blockchains,” according to the document.

This isn’t the first blockchain-related patent that Mastercard has recently filed. In April, the company filed a patent that reveals it might utilize blockchain as a way to protect identity data.

The application, which was originally filed in September 2017 and was released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week, describes how a semi-private or private blockchain could be used to receive and store identity data, including a “name, a street address, tax identification number” and more.

“The use of a blockchain for the storage of identity and credential data may provide for an immutable storage of such data that can provide an accurate verification thereof and also prevent the fabrication of such data,” wrote Mastercard in the filing.