Capital One Bank Files (New) Patent For User Authentication On The Blockchain

There have been more and more attempts to bring blockchain closer to the banking industry. In the latest news, Capital One, which is a bank holding company that focuses on credit cards and bank loans, has applied for a patent that will help it authenticate the new users in a secure manner – on the blockchain.

The company has recently applied for a patent named “Blockchain Systems and Methods for User Authentication” which was filed in Virginia (USA). The inventors of the authentication system (as listed) are Johnatan Weimer and Ryan Fox.

In the abstract of the patent, the project is explained in more detail. As it says, the computer-implemented methods and systems will focus on blockchain-based user authentication where users will be listed in a special system that will include verification messages and authorization codes for the root system.

As such, the authentication system will comprise of:

“At least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory containing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the authentication system to: publish a root system block for a user to a private blockchain.”

Meanwhile, this patent is a continuation of a patent that Weimer filed in June 2017, which shows that Capital One has been working on the technology for some time now. More importantly, it is another proof that a banking company like this sees blockchain as the best technology for responding to authentication requests associated with different institutions and potentially merging them all into a collaborative authentication system that will handle everything.

As the authors concluded:

“The authentication system would also be constructed in a way that encouraged the participating institutions to trust in the validity of the authentication records. A need therefore exists for an authentication system architecture that addresses these technical problems.”

With this, Capital One is the latest company to file for blockchain patents and integrate the technology into their business model.