Mastercard Files Patent for "Anonymous" Privacy Coin

Mastercard files a patent that purports to create a blockchain network based on anonymity, much like a privacy coin.

Mastercard files a patent that purports to create a blockchain network based on anonymity, much like a privacy coin.

A patent filed on Thursday by Mastercard provides details on a “method [...] for anonymization of electronic transactions via blockchain”, according to the record from the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

The structure of the blockchain calls for something known as an “anonymization request,” which involves the production of a signature proving a transaction to the destination account and the obfuscation of all public data related to the transaction.

This essentially creates a privacy coin environment similar to that of Monero, Zcash or Zcoin, all of which are cryptocurrencies focused on obfuscating transaction details as much as possible with the intended purpose of making operation inside their blockchains as intimate as possible.

“Some users may be uncomfortable with having so much data attributed to their wallet, which can run counter to the primary aim of many users in using a blockchain… Thus, there is a need for a technical solution to increase the anonymization of a wallet and the user associated therewith in a blockchain,” the patent said.

Mastercard frequently references something known as a “processing server” that anonymizes transfers, but does not elaborate on whether this is a node on the network or a single server in charge of processing anonymization requests. In the latter case, this would make Mastercard’s system a permissioned trust-based blockchain.

If Mastercard would make a permissioned coin, users may prefer to stick to the variety of anonymous coins currently available.

The timing of this patent is interesting, as the US government has already started putting in the groundwork for de-anonymizing privacy coins to make the job of law enforcement simpler.

Any successful techniques used in tracking Monero or Zcash transactions could be put to use in any blockchain that Mastercard develops.