WO2021025613A1

WO2021025613A1 - Scoring platform devices and methods of facilitating transactions

Info

Publication number: WO2021025613A1
Application number: PCT/SG2019/050390
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rajat Goswami PATIT PABAN GOSWAMI; Yoriko Kazama
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 2019-08-06
Filing date: 2019-08-06
Publication date: 2021-02-11

Abstract

A scoring platform device may include a scoring node, and a smart contract circuit configured to implement a smart contract and to retrieve private data from a node of a blockchain network and further configured to compute a score based on the private data, and a hash value of the private data. The blockchain network may include the scoring node. The scoring node may be the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract. The scoring node may be configured to store an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value by at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from. The new block may include the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data.

Description

SCORING PLATFORM DEVICES AND METHODS OF FACILITATING TRANSACTIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Various embodiments relate to scoring platform devices and methods for facilitating transactions, in particular, implemented with blockchain technology.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In a free economy, the prices of goods fluctuate according to demand and supply. Sometimes, however, it may be possible for various organizations to unfairly manipulate the prices of goods when there is an asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers. As such, business organizations may desire to obtain trustable information about other organizations that they may be dealing with. Prior art systems may provide means to share trustable information, by sharing actual availability data of each organization. However, business organizations may be reluctant to divulge their actual data as it may cause them to lose competitive advantage. As such, there is a need for a method to hide the confidential data of these business organizations while allowing them to share trustable information.

SUMMARY

[0003] According to various embodiments, there may be provided a scoring platform device. The scoring platform device may include: a scoring node and a smart contract circuit. The smart contract circuit may be configured to implement a smart contract, and configured to retrieve private data from a node of a blockchain network and further configured to compute a score based on the private data, and a hash value of the private data. The blockchain network may include the scoring node. The scoring node may be the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract. The scoring node may be further configured to store an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value by at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from. The new block may include the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data.

[0004] According to various embodiments, there may be provided a method of facilitating transactions. The method may include: executing a smart contract using a scoring node; retrieving private data from a node of a blockchain network using the smart contract; computing a score based on the private data and a hash value of the private data, using the smart contract; verifying the computed score and the hash value using at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from; and storing an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value. The blockchain network may include the scoring node, wherein the scoring node may be the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract. The new block may include the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data. Another node of the blockchain network may select or may be matched to, the node where the private data originated from for a transaction, based on the verified computed score in the new block.

[0005] According to various embodiments, there may be provided a non-transitory computer- readable medium storing instructions, which when executed, performs the abovementioned method of facilitating transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0007] FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of a blockchain network according to various embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 2 shows a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a peer node 220 according to various embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method of facilitating transactions, according to various embodiments.

[0010] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a blockchain network according to various embodiments. [0011] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a blockchain network according to various embodiments.

[0012] FIG. 6A shows a conceptual diagram of an example of a seller node of a blockchain network according to various embodiments.

[0013] FIG. 6B shows a conceptual diagram of an example of a buyer node of a blockchain network according to various embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method of facilitating transactions according to various embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a scoring platform device according to various embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

[0016] Embodiments described below in context of the devices are analogously valid for the respective methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it will be understood that the embodiments described below may be combined, for example, a part of one embodiment may be combined with a part of another embodiment.

[0017] It will be understood that any property described herein for a specific device may also hold for any device described herein. It will be understood that any property described herein for a specific method may also hold for any method described herein. Furthermore, it will be understood that for any device or method described herein, not necessarily all the components or steps described must be enclosed in the device or method, but only some (but not all) components or steps may be enclosed.

[0018] In this context, the scoring platform device as described in this description may include a memory which is for example used in the processing carried out in the device. A memory used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory, for example a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or a non-volatile memory, for example a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a flash memory, e.g., a floating gate memory, a charge trapping memory, an MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) or a PCRAM (Phase Change Random Access Memory).

[0019] In an embodiment, a "circuit" may be understood as any kind of a logic implementing entity, which may be special purpose circuitry or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in an embodiment, a "circuit" may be a hard- wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, e.g. a microprocessor (e.g. a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). A "circuit" may also be a processor executing software, e.g. any kind of computer program, e.g. a computer program using a virtual machine code such as e.g. Java. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions which will be described in more detail below may also be understood as a "circuit" in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

[0020] In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, various embodiments will now be described by way of examples and not limitations, and with reference to the figures.

[0021] In the context of various embodiments, “smart contract” may be a computer- executable code, also sometimes known as “chaincode”, that when executed, allows a computer to read and update data on a blockchain. A smart contract may be a self-executing contract that embodies business logic, in that the terms of an agreement between a buyer and a seller may be written into lines of the code. The smart contract may be distributed across a plurality of peer nodes of a blockchain network, and may be agreed to and verified by the peer nodes. Peer nodes that want to submit transactions or read data using a smart contract may need to have the smart contract installed in itself.

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of a blockchain network 100 according to various embodiments. The blockchain network 100 may facilitate sharing of information between various parties, such as organizations, merchants, companies, or individuals without revealing their confidential data. The confidential data may also be referred herein as private data. The information may pertain to availability, prices, location, and time of availability, among others, relating to assets or goods. The blockchain network may include a scoring platform 112 and a plurality of participant nodes 102, 104, 106 and 108. Each of the scoring platform 112 and the participant nodes 102, 104, 106 and 108 may be peer nodes in the blockchain network. According to various embodiments, the scoring platform 112 may be a web-based or cloud-based platform that may be accessed over the network 110 by the participant nodes 102, 104, 106, 108. The peer nodes may communicate with one another via a network 110. The network 110 may be any type of network such as one that includes the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, an intranet, a peer-to-peer network, wireless network and/or other network. Each peer node may include, or may be hosted on a computing device 200. The computing device 200 may be a server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a mobile device (for example, a smart phone or a personal digital assistant), a tablet device, or any other type of computing device. Each peer node may also include a copy of a ledger 114. The ledger 114 may also be referred herein as a distributed ledger, or a blockchain. The ledger 114 may store records of transactions across the blockchain network 100 in a secure and reliable manner. While the ledger 114 may be readable by every peer node, none of the peer nodes may amend or delete any information in the ledger 114 once the information is written to the ledger 114. Also, any new information that is to be written to the ledger 114 may be verified by at least one peer node before the new information is written to the ledger 114. The participant nodes may represent the various parties, i.e. the various parties may access the blockchain network via these participant nodes. The information may be shared between the parties via the ledger 114.

[0023] Each of the participant nodes may sign an agreement upon entering the blockchain network 100 that allows the scoring platform 112 to access their confidential data. When organization 1 requires an item, it may raise a request through the participant node 104. The scoring platform 112 may obtain from the participant node 104, details of the request, which may include confidential data such as the maximum price that organization 1 may be willing to pay for the item. The scoring platform 112 may calculate a demand score for the request based on the details of the request received from the participant node. The scoring platform 112 may record the demand score in the ledger 114. Similarly, organization 3 may also raise a request through its participant node 108, and the scoring platform 112 may calculate a demand score for organization 3’s request and may record the demand score in the ledger 114. The scoring platform 112 may also compute availability scores for organizations 2 and 4 which may be seeking to sell the item, based on their respective supply information. Their supply information may also include confidential data, for example, the quantity of the item that is available. The demand scores and the availability scores of the participant nodes may be indicative of the actual demand and supply of the organizations but may be void of direct information on the confidential data. The organizations may select another organization that has a closest matching score, for example, organization 1 may carry out a transaction with organization 4, since organization l’s request score of 10 matches organization 4’s availability score of 10. Following the transaction, any one of the participant node 104, the participant node 102, or the scoring platform 112 may update the ledger 114 with details of the transaction. Prior to every update of the ledger 114, at least one node may endorse and/or verify the information that is to be updated to the ledger 114.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a peer node 220 according to various embodiments. The peer node 220 may include, for example, one or more servers, workstations, personal computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, point-of-sale terminals, other suitable computing devices, etc. In addition, the peer node 220 may include a single computing device, or it may include multiple computing devices located in close proximity, or multiple computing devices distributed over a geographic region. The peer node 220 may include a processor 202 and a memory 204 coupled to, and configured to communicate with the processor 202. The processor 202 may include one or more processing units (for example, in a multi-core configuration). The processing units may include, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a gate array. The memory 204 may be a physical, tangible, and non-transitory computer readable storage media. The memory 204 may include one or more computer-readable storage media, such as, without limitation, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), solid state devices, flash drives, CD-ROMs, thumb drives, floppy disks, tapes, hard disks, and/or any other type of volatile or nonvolatile physical or tangible computer- readable media. The memory 204 may be configured to store data, including the ledger 114, transaction data between the participant nodes, and confidential data of the participant nodes. The memory 204 may also store instructions that may be executable by the processor 202. The peer node 220 may also include a presentation unit 206, also referred herein as an output device or a display device. The presentation unit 206 may be coupled to, and configured to communicate with the processor 202. The presentation unit 206 may be configured to output information, either visually or audibly to a user 230 of the peer node 220. The presentation unit 206 may be configured to display various interfaces. The presentation unit 206 may include, for example, one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, and an “electronic ink” display.

[0025] The peer node 220 may further includes an input device 208 that is configured to receive inputs from users 230 of the peer node 220. The input device 208 may be coupled to, and may be configured to communication with, the processor 202. The input device 208 may include, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, a mouse, a stylus, a touch sensitive panel, another computing device, and/or an audio input device. According to various embodiments, a touch screen, such as that included in a tablet, a smartphone, or similar device, may function as both the presentation unit 206 and the input device 208. The peer node 220 may also include a network interface 210 coupled to, and configured to communicate with, the processor 202 and the memory 204. The network interface 210 may include, one of a wired network adapter, a wireless network adapter, a mobile network adapter, and other device capable of communicating to one or more different networks, including the network 110. The peer node 220 may include a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 240. The bus 240 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the peer node 220 and the overall design constraints. The bus 240 links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware components, represented by the processor 202, the memory 204, the network interface 210, the presentation unit 206 and the input device 208. The bus 724 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method of facilitating transactions, according to various embodiments. In 302, an organization, through a participant node, may request for a product. The participant node that made the request may also be referred herein as a buyer node. The scoring platform 112 may receive the request. In 304, upon receiving the request, the scoring platform 112 may calculate a demand score based on demand data retrieved from the buyer node. The demand data may include private datathat the organization does not wish to divulge to other organizations. The private data may include, for example, the actual demand level, the maximum time allowed for fulfilling the order, the delivery location etc. The scoring platform 112 may hide the actual demand level by calculating the demand score, as the private data may not be derivable from the demand score. The scoring platform 112 may calculate the demand score based on a function that takes in multiple inputs. The scoring platform 112 may calculate the demand score taking into consideration factors which the buyer nodes may wish to maintain as a secret. These factors may be part of the private data. In 306, the scoring platform 112 may acquire the inventory data of seller nodes of the blockchain network 100. The seller nodes may be participant nodes in the blockchain network 100, which may be selling the product. In 308, the scoring platform 112 may calculate the availability scores of the seller nodes, thereby hiding the private data of the seller nodes. The private data of the seller nodes may include inventory level and other sensitive business information. The inventory level may be private data of these seller nodes. The scoring platform 112 may calculate the availability score taking into consideration factors such as actual inventory information and actual product cost information and other business factors which may be private and confidential data of the seller nodes. In 310, the scoring platform 112 may display the demand score and the availability scores that are calculated in 304 and 308 respectively. Alternatively, the scoring platform 112 may proceed to 312. In 312, the scoring platform 112 may update the ledger 114, with the calculated demand score and availability scores. The scoring platform 112 and one of the nodes may independently verify the scores before the scoring platform 112 updates the ledger 114. The method described above may convert private and confidential information into trustable scores which may be publicly distributed or shared among the participant nodes, to facilitate business transactions. The method may achieve a balance between confidentiality and transparency, as well as preventing fraud by any of the participant nodes.

[0027] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a blockchain network 400 according to various embodiments. The blockchain network 400 may include a plurality of peer nodes and a smart contract 402.

[0028] The peer nodes may include a scoring node 410 and a plurality of participant nodes 422, 424, 426 and 428 that may include seller nodes and buyer nodes. The peer nodes in the blockchain network 400 may be connected by the network 110. The smart contract 402 may be implemented by a smart contract circuit. The smart contract circuit may be part of the scoring node 410, or any other nodes of the blockchain network 400. Each node of the blockchain network 400 may include a smart contract circuit, and each node of the blockchain network may include a copy of the smart contract 402. Each of the participant nodes 422, 424, 426 and 428 may represent a seller or a buyer organization. These nodes may store private data which may include sensitive information about their assets like price, quantity, location, purchase date or manufacturing date or other factors that are confidential, in a private databases 404. The private databases 404 may be standalone storage medium, or may be a private distributed ledger that is distributed across trusted nodes of the respective organizations. The scoring node 410 may access the private data using the smart contract 402 and may be able to calculate a score based on the private data and hash value of the private data using a hash function. The scoring node 410 may calculate the score and the hash value by executing the smart contract 402. As an example, the participant nodes 422 and 424 may be buyer nodes while the participant nodes 426 and 428 may be seller nodes. The private data of the buyer nodes may be price, or demand level. The private data of the seller nodes may be availability. The smart contract 402 may calculate a demand score for the buyer nodes and may calculate an availability score for the seller nodes. After that, the scoring node 410 and/or the respective participant node from which the private data is obtained from, may check (in other words: verify) the score and the hash value. The scoring node 410 and the participant node may check the score and the hash value independently. Each peer node, including the scoring node 410 and the participant nodes, may also store a copy of a public ledger 412, also referred herein as the blockchain of the blockchain network 400. After the score and the hash value are verified, the scoring node 410 may update the public ledger 412 by writing the score and the hash value to the public ledger 412. The scoring node 410 may update the public ledger 412 by executing the smart contract 402. The smart contract 402 may write the score and the hash value in a new block. The scoring node 410 may store and add the new block to the public ledger 412. When the new block is added to the public ledger 412, the new block may appear in each copy of the public ledger 412 in respective peer nodes. To safeguard the confidentiality of the private data of the participant nodes, the scoring node 410 may be the only peer node of the blockchain network 400 that is authorized to execute the smart contract 402. The scores of the participant nodes may be used for matching the seller nodes and the buyer nodes. For example, the scores of the seller nodes may be referred herein as availability scores that may give an indication of the availability of the goods without divulging the actual availability data. The availability score may be computed based on multiple factors such as quantity of the goods, location of the goods, the cost of transporting the goods to the seller, and the cost price for the seller etc. The scores of the buyer nodes may be referred herein as demand scores that may give an indication of the demand level without divulging actual demand data. The demand scores may be computed based on multiple factors such as the maximum price that the buyer nodes are willing to pay, the quantity of purchase, and the delivery destination etc. The names or true identities of the buyer nodes and the seller nodes may also be private data. The buyer nodes and the seller nodes may be represented by unique reference codes instead of their real names, to avoid manipulations in the market. After the scores and the hash values are added the public ledger 412, the buyer nodes and the seller nodes may read the scores from the public ledger 412 and may select their trading partners based on the scores. Alternatively, the scoring node 410 may propose matches between the buyer nodes and the seller nodes based on the scores, for example, closest availability and demand scores. If a pair of buyer and seller node agree to being trading partners, the buyer node and the seller node may also agree to reveal their private data to their trading partners. A third smart contract may facilitate the revelation of the private data, by providing the key to the hash function, to the trading partners. The trading partners may use the keys to access the private data through the hash value in the public ledger 412. After the buyer node and the seller node carry out a transaction, a fourth smart contract may compute transaction data, and may update the public ledger 412 with the transaction data. The transaction data may be stored as hashed values in the public ledger 412 such that peer nodes that did not participate in the transaction may only see hashed information, instead of full information of the transaction. For example, the peer nodes that did not participate in the transaction may only see information that an item was sold from a first organization to a second organization without seeing details on the type of item, the quantity of the item sold and the price of the item.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a blockchain network 500 according to various embodiments. The blockchain network 500 may include the blockchain network 400, and more than one smart contracts. The blockchain network 500 may include a first smart contract 602 and a second smart contract 604. Like in the blockchain network 400, the scoring node 410 may execute the first smart contract 602, to retrieve private data from the private databases 404 of the participant nodes. The scoring node 410 may be the only node in the blockchain network 500 that is authorized to execute the smart contract. The participant nodes may be barred from accessing the private data of other participant nodes. The first smart contract 602 may compute a score for each of the participant nodes based on their respective private data. For example, the first smart contract 602 may compute availability scores of seller nodes 426 and 428 based on their respective private data which may include quantity of goods, location of goods and other confidential information. The first smart contract 602 may also compute a hash value of the private data of the respective participant nodes. After computing the score and the hash value for each participant node, the first smart contract 602 may invoke a second smart contract 604. The second smart contract 604 may write the score and the hash value in a new added block of the public ledger 412. At least one of the scoring node 410 and the participant node from whom the private data was retrieved, may verify the score and the hash value computed by the first smart contract 602. The other participant nodes may not participate in the verification process, as they may be barred from access to the private data of other participant nodes. The scores may be nonetheless trusted by all of the participant nodes as the scores may be written to the public ledger 412 together with the hash values of the private data that is used to compute the scores. The scoring node 410 may store the added new blocks to the public ledger 412 upon verification of the scores and the hash values. Each added new block may store the score and the hash value of a respective participant node, i.e. a respective seller node or a respective buyer node.

[0030] According to various embodiments, the blockchain networks 400 or 500 may include further smart contracts. Each smart contract may be implemented by a respective smart contract circuit. The smart contract circuits may be part of peer nodes in the blockchain network.

[0031] According to various embodiments, the scoring node 410 may at least one of compute the hash value of the private data, retrieve private data and update the public ledge 412 directly, instead of executing a smart contract.

[0032] FIG. 6A shows a conceptual diagram 600A of an example of a seller node of a blockchain network according to various embodiments. The seller node may be for example, the participant node 422 of FIGS. 4 or 5. In the example shown, the private database 404 in the seller node may be private distributed ledger, such as a private blockchain. The private database 404 may store the private data in the form of key value pairs. The private database 404 may include data blocks 404a, 404b and 404c. The data blocks 404a, 404b and 404c may be linked with hash values of the preceding data blocks. The data blocks 404a, 404b and 404c may store the hash of a preceding data block such that all the sensitive information is hashed to one another using cryptographic hash functions. For example, the data block 404a may store the asset name (i.e. name of the goods) and the asset location. The data block 404a may also store a hash value of a purchase time of the asset. The succeeding data block, which may be data block 404b, may store the asset name and the asset quantity. The data block 404b may also store the hash value of the asset location, in other words, the data block 404b may be linked to the data block 404a by the hash value of the data in block 404a. Similarly, the data block 404c which may follow the data block 404b, may store a hash value of the asset quantity. The data block 404c may store another piece of information with respect to the asset, for example, the asset price. The smart contract 402 may retrieve the asset price from the data block 404c, to compute the availability score and the hash value of the asset price. The smart contract 402 may write the availability score and the hash value to a new block of the public ledger 412. The scoring node 410 may store the new block to the public ledger 412. The public ledger 412 may be accessible by all of the nodes in the blockchain network. While the public ledger 412 contains the availability score and the hash value of the asset price, also referred herein as “Hash(Price)”, none of the other nodes except the scoring node 410, may view the asset price and other private data. The seller node may give permission to another node for viewing the asset price, for example, after agreeing to a transaction with the other node, by giving the other node the key to decrypt the hash value.

[0033] According to various embodiments, the smart contract 402 may retrieve data from each of the data blocks 404a, 404b and 404c, and may compute the availability score based on data from all of these data blocks and may also compute the hash value of the data of all these data blocks, also referred herein as “Hash(Price, Quantity, Location, Time)”. The new added block that the scoring node 410 stores to the public ledge 412 may include the availability score and Hash(Price, Quantity, Location, Time).

[0034] FIG. 6B shows a conceptual diagram 600B of an example of a buyer node of a blockchain network according to various embodiments. The buyer node may be for example, the participant node 426 of FIGS. 4 or 5. Like shown in FIG. 6A, the private database 404 in the buyer node may be a private distributed ledger, such as a private blockchain, and the private database 404 may store the private data in the form of key value pairs. The private database 404 may include data blocks 414a, 414b and 414c. The data blocks 414a, 414b and 414c may be linked with hash values of the preceding data blocks, similar to the data blocks 404a, 404b and 404c as described with respect to FIG. 6A. The smart contract 402 may retrieve the asset price from the data block 414c, to compute the demand score and the hash value of the asset price. The smart contract 402 may write the demand score and the hash value to a new block of the public ledger 412. The scoring node 410 may store the new block to the public ledger 412. The public ledger 412 may be accessible by all of the nodes in the blockchain network. While the public ledger 412 contains the demand score and the hash value of the asset price, none of the other nodes except the scoring node 410, may view the asset price and any other private data. The buyer node may give permission to another node for viewing the asset price, for example, after agreeing to a transaction with the other node, by giving the other node the key to decrypt the hash value.

[0035] According to various embodiments, the smart contract 402 may retrieve data from each of the data blocks 414a, 414b and 414c, and may compute the demand score based on data from all of these data blocks and may also compute the hash value of the data of all these data blocks, also referred herein as “Hash(Price, Quantity, Location, Time)”. The new added block that the scoring node 410 stores to the public ledge 412 may include the demand score and Hash(Price, Quantity, Location, Time).

[0036] FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a method of facilitating transactions 700 according to various embodiments. 702 may include executing a smart contract using a scoring node connected to a blockchain network. The scoring node may be the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorized to execute the smart contract. 704 may include retrieving private data from a node of the blockchain network using a smart contract. 706 may include computing a score based on the private data and computing a hash value of the private data, using the smart contract. 708 may include verifying the computed score and the hash value using at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from. 710 may include storing an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value. The new block may include the verified computed score and the hash value, without the private data. Another node of the blockchain network may select or may be matched to, the node where the private data originated from, for a transaction, based on the verified computed score in the new block.

[0037] According to various embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may store instructions, which when executed, performs the method of facilitating transactions 700. [0038] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a scoring platform device 800 according to various embodiments. The scoring platform device 800 may include a scoring node 802 and a smart contract circuit 804. The smart contract circuit 804 may be configured to implement a smart contract and may be configured to retrieve private data from a node of the blockchain network. The blockchain network may include the scoring node 802. The scoring node 802 may be the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorized to execute the smart contract. The smart contract circuit 804 may be further configured to compute a score based on the private data, and a hash value of the private data. The scoring node 802 may be further configured to store an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value by at least one of the scoring node 802 and the node where the private data originated from. The scoring node 802 may do so using the smart contract circuit 804, or alternatively, the smart contract circuit 804 may store the added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value by at least one of the scoring node 802 and the node where the private data originated from. The new block may include the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data. The scoring node 802 and the smart contract circuit 804 may be coupled with each other, like indicated by line 806, for example electrically coupled, for example using a line or a cable, and / or mechanically coupled.

[0039] In other words, according to various embodiments, the scoring node 802 may be part of a blockchain network that includes a plurality of nodes. The scoring node 802 may include any one of the scoring platform 112 or the scoring node 410. The blockchain network may include any one of the blockchain network 100, 400 or 500. The blockchain network may include a blockchain that may be distributed across the plurality of nodes. In other words, the blockchain may be duplicated in each node of the plurality of nodes. The blockchain may include any one of the ledger 112 or 412. The scoring node 802 may be one of the plurality of nodes. The plurality of nodes may also be referred herein as peer nodes. The scoring node 802 may be the only node out of the plurality of nodes that is able to execute a smart contract, due to permissions that the plurality of nodes agreed to in joining the blockchain network. The smart contract may include any one of the smart contract 402 or the first smart contract 602. The smart contract may be implemented by a smart contract circuit 804. A copy of the smart contract may be stored in a memory of the scoring node 802. The other nodes in the blockchain network may also store copies of the smart contract. The smart contract circuit 804 may be configured to retrieve private data from a node of the blockchain network and further configured to compute a score based on the private data, and compute a hash value of the private data. The scoring node 802 and/or the node where the private data is retrieved from, may verify the computed score and the hash value. The scoring node 802 may be configured to store an added new block to the blockchain upon the verification. The new block may contain the verified computed score and the hash value. The new block may be void of the private data in a readable format. The scoring node 802 may be configured to add a respective new block to the blockchain for the verified computed score and the hash value of each node of the blockchain network. In other words, the score of each node may be stored in a respective block of the blockchain. The score of each node may be tmstable by virtue of being verified, and may mask the private data of the respective node. The plurality of nodes may include seller nodes and buyer nodes. The scoring node 802 may be configured to match a seller node and a buyer node of the blockchain network based on their respective verified computed scores in the blockchain. The scoring node 802 may be further configured to execute a further smart contract to compute updated scores and hash values of the matched seller node and buyer node, and add new blocks to the blockchain storing the updated scores and hash values, after a transaction is carried out between the matched seller node and buyer node.

[0040] According to various embodiments, the scoring platform device 800 may further include a further smart contract circuit configured to implement a further smart contract. The further smart contract circuit may be further configured to write the verified computed score and the hash value to the new block upon execution of the smart contract. Alternatively, the scoring node may write the verified computed score and the hash value to the new block upon execution of the smart contract.

[0041] According to various embodiments, the scoring node 802 may include at least one of the smart contract circuit 804 and the further smart contract circuit. [0042] According to various embodiments, the scoring node 802 may be further configured to match another node of the blockchain network to the node where the private data originated from, based on the verified computed score in the new block.

[0043] According to various embodiments, a method of facilitating transactions may include implementing an availability score generation system over a blockchain network. Various organizations may participate in asset sharing or trading through respective nodes in the blockchain network. When an organization wishes to buy an item, it may raise a request for the item required. A scoring platform in the blockchain network may then dynamically assign a demand score based on the requirements of the organization and mask the actual inventory details of the organization. The scoring platform may calculate the demand score as a function of current volume at requestor, required volume, time to fulfil, geographic location etc. The demand score may be modified based on the industry domain and factors affecting the business. The scoring platform may display the demand score. The available suppliers with the requested item may be designated with availability scores by the scoring platform. The availability score may be a function of geographical distance, product volume available, product travel time, shipping cost, price etc. Availability scores may be modified based on the industry domain and factors affecting the business. The score may be calculated based on Actual inventory stated by the organizations or it may be captured electronically via RFID or any other codes from the organization’s warehouse or manufacturing industry before shipping to the organizations. The scoring platform may display the demand score and availability score in the blockchain and facilitate the transfer. The score may also be a monetary value. The method described may be employed for various industries, for example, aircraft, real estate, gold, metals, etc.

[0044] According to various embodiments, the scoring platform device 800 may be include devices that may predict the score based on machine learning algorithms like random forest and neural networks.

[0045] While embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced. It will be appreciated that common numerals, used in the relevant drawings, refer to components that serve a similar or the same purpose. [0046] It will be appreciated to a person skilled in the art that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0047] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes / flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes / flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0048] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof’ include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof’ may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

Claims

1. A scoring platform device, comprising: a scoring node; and a smart contract circuit configured to implement a smart contract, and configured to retrieve private data from a node of a blockchain network and further configured to compute a score based on the private data, and a hash value of the private data; wherein the blockchain network comprises the scoring node, wherein the scoring node is the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract; wherein the scoring node is further configured to store an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value by at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from; and wherein the new block comprises the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data.

2. The scoring platform device of claim 1, wherein the scoring node comprises the smart contract circuit.

3. The scoring platform device of any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising; a further smart contract circuit configured to implement a further smart contract, and configured to write the verified computed score and the hash value to the new block, upon complete execution of the smart contract.

4. The scoring platform device of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the scoring node is further configured to match another node of the blockchain network to the node where the private data originated from based on the verified computed score in the new block.

5. The scoring platform device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the scoring node is configured to add a respective new block to the blockchain for the verified computed score and the hash value of each node of the blockchain network.

6. The scoring platform device of claim 5, wherein the scoring node is further configured to match a seller node and a buyer node of the blockchain network, based on their respective verified computed scores in the blockchain.

7. The scoring platform device of claim 6, wherein the scoring node is further configured to execute a further smart contract to compute updated scores and hash values of the matched seller node and buyer node, and add new blocks to the blockchain storing the updated scores and hash values, after a transaction is carried out between the matched seller node and buyer node.

8. A method of facilitating transactions, the method comprising: executing a smart contract using a scoring node, wherein a blockchain network comprises the scoring node, wherein the scoring node is the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract; retrieving private data from a node of the blockchain network using the smart contract; computing a score based on the private data and computing a hash value of the private data, using the smart contract; verifying the computed score and the hash value using at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from; and storing an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value, wherein the new block comprises the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data; wherein another node of the blockchain network selects or is matched to, the node where the private data originated from for a transaction, based on the verified computed score in the new block.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the smart contract is stored in a memory of the scoring node.

10. The method of any one of claims 8 to 9, further comprising: storing a respective added new block to the blockchain for the verified computed score and the hash value of each node of the blockchain network, using the scoring node.

11. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising; writing the verified computed score and the hash value to the new block, upon complete execution of the smart contract using a further smart contract.

12. The method of any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the scoring node matches the other node to the node where the private data originated from.

13. The method of any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the node where the private data originated from and the other node are a pair of seller node and buyer node.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: executing a further smart contract to compute updated scores and hash values of the matched seller node and buyer node; and storing added new blocks to the blockchain, after a transaction is carried out between the pair of seller node and buyer node, wherein the new blocks comprise the updated scores and hash values.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed, performs a method of facilitating transactions, the method comprising: executing a smart contract using a scoring node, wherein a blockchain network comprises the scoring node, wherein the scoring node is the only node out of a plurality of nodes of the blockchain network that is authorised to execute the smart contract; retrieving private data from a node of the blockchain network using the smart contract; computing a score based on the private data and a hash value of the private data, using the smart contract; verifying the computed score and the hash value using at least one of the scoring node and the node where the private data originated from; and storing an added new block to a blockchain stored in the blockchain network upon verification of the computed score and the hash value, wherein the new block comprises the verified computed score and the hash value without the private data; wherein another node of the blockchain network selects or is matched to, the node where the private data originated from for a transaction, based on the verified computed score in the new block.