Device, system, and method for transfer of commodities

• US 10,552,905 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Castor Pollux Holdings SARL
• Original Assignee: Castor Pollux Holdings SARL
• Inventors: Wager, Steve, Cascarilla, Charles, Bhuvanagiri, Vineeth, Lam, Alex
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US15/217,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20170024818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• Field of Search: 705 3- 44, 705 50, 705 64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/00 Business processing using cryptography postage metering system using cryptography G06Q2250/05
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853

Abstract

A device, system, and method transfer commodities using tokens. The method performed by a first entity includes receiving a first request from a second entity to transfer tokens from the second entity to a third entity, the tokens including data representing an ownership position of a commodity by the second entity, at least a portion of the commodity being in a physical possession of the first entity. The method includes receiving a second request from the third entity to transfer the tokens from the second entity to the third entity. The method includes when the first request matches the second request, verifying the ownership position of the tokens by the second entity. The method includes upon the successful verification of the ownership position of the tokens, updating the ownership position of the tokens from the second entity to the third entity.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

(A) receiving, by a first entity computer of a first entity, a first request from a second entity computer of a second entity to transfer tokens from the second entity to a third entity, the tokens comprising data representing an ownership position of a commodity by the second entity, at least a portion of the commodity being in a physical possession of the first entity;

(B) receiving, by the first entity computer, a second request from a third entity computer of the third entity to transfer the tokens from the second entity to the third entity;

(C) when the first request matches the second request, verifying, by the first entity computer, the ownership position of the tokens by the second entity; and

(D) upon the successful verification of the ownership position of the tokens, updating, by the first entity computer, the ownership position of the tokens from the second entity to the third entity, wherein the tokens are generated using a blockchain-based system in which a consensus algorithm operating on a plurality of distributed computer nodes updates a distributed ledger in which multiple copies of the distributed ledger exist across the plurality of distributed computer nodes, and the tokens being added to a block in the blockchain-base system according to the consensus algorithm and wherein updating the ownership position of the tokens from the second entity to the third entity comprises at least in part adding a new block to the blockchain-based system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (D) comprises the following substeps:

(I) temporarily preventing, by the first entity computer, an update to the ownership position of the tokens; and

(II) transmitting, by the first entity computer, instructions to transfer funds from the third entity to the second entity.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

(III) upon receiving from the second entity computer a confirmation indicating that the funds from the third entity have been received, performing the following substeps;

(a) removing, by the first entity computer, the temporary preventing of the ownership position update of the tokens;

(b) updating, by the first entity computer, the ownership data to the third entity to yield an updated ownership data; and

(c) transmitting, by the first entity computer, the updated ownership data to predetermined recipients, the predetermined recipients comprising the second and third entities.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (b) further comprises:

(i) encrypting, by the first entity computer, updated ownership data; and

(ii) transmitting, by the first entity computer, the encrypted data to the predetermined recipients.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined recipients comprise at least one further entity uninvolved in the transfer of the tokens.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the successful verification of the ownership position of the tokens is performed using the consensus algorithm.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon a failed verification of the ownership position of the tokens, removing, by the first entity computer, the first and second requests to an exception pool.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the first entity computer, satisfaction data from the second entity computer to convert the failed verification to the successful verification within a predetermined window; and

continuing, by the first entity computer, to step (D).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity is a chartered trust company, wherein the second entity is a commodity dealer, and wherein the third entity is a further commodity dealer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the commodity is gold.

11. A device, comprising:

a non-transitory memory having a program stored thereon; and

a processor executing the program, wherein the execution of the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising;

(A) receiving, by a computer of a first entity, a first request from a computer of a second entity to transfer tokens from the second entity to a third entity, the tokens comprising data representing an ownership position of a commodity by the second entity, at least a portion of the commodity being in a physical possession of the first entity;

(B) receiving, by the first entity computer, a second request from a computer of the third entity to transfer the tokens from the second entity to the third entity;

(C) when the first request matches the second request, verifying, by the first entity computer, the ownership position of the tokens by the second entity; and

(D) upon the successful verification of the ownership position of the tokens, updating, by the first entity computer, the ownership position of the tokens from the second entity to the third entity, wherein the tokens are generated using a blockchain-based system in which a consensus algorithm operating on a plurality of distributed computer nodes updates a distributed ledger in which multiple copies of the distributed ledger exist across the plurality of distributed computer nodes, and the tokens being added to a block in the blockchain-base system according to the consensus algorithm and wherein updating the ownership position of the tokens from the second entity to the third entity comprises at least in part adding a new block to the blockchain-based system.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the step (D) comprises the following substeps:

(I) temporarily preventing, by the first entity computer, an update to the ownership position of the tokens; and

(II) transmitting, by the first entity computer, instructions to transfer funds from the third entity to the second entity.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor performs further operations comprising:

(III) upon receiving from the second entity computer a confirmation indicating that the funds from the third entity have been received, performing the following substeps;

(a) removing, by the first entity computer, the temporary preventing of the ownership position update of the tokens;

(b) updating, by the first entity computer, ownership data of the tokens to the third entity to yield updated ownership data; and

(c) transmitting, by the first entity computer, the updated ownership data to predetermined recipients, the predetermined recipients comprising the second and third entities.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein the step (b) further comprises:

(i) encrypting, by the first entity computer, updated ownership data to yield encrypted data; and

(ii) transmitting, by the first entity computer, the encrypted data to the predetermined recipients.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the predetermined recipients comprise at least one further entity uninvolved in the transfer of the tokens.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein the successful verification of the ownership position of the tokens is performed using consensus algorithm.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor performs further operations comprising:

upon a failed verification of the ownership position of the tokens, removing, by the first entity computer, the first and second requests to an exception pool.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the processor performs further operations comprising:

receiving, by the first entity computer, satisfaction data from the second entity computer to convert the failed verification to the successful verification within a predetermined window; and

continuing, by the first entity computer, to step (D).

19. The device of claim 11, wherein the first entity is a chartered trust company, wherein the second entity is a commodity dealer, and wherein the third entity is a further commodity dealer.

20. The device of claim 11, wherein the commodity is gold.