Dive Brief:
- Bank of America has filed a patent application for a multi-tiered security system for digital currency wallets.
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Digital wallet security is insufficient, the application said, because customers run the risk of forgetting or mishandling their private keys if they control wallet access. However, they cede some control over their funds if a third party oversees security.
- The proposal, published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, allows customers to use one password to access one tier of assets, and subsequent passwords for further levels.
Dive Insight:
The multi-tiered access structure would be somewhat similar to a multi-signature bitcoin wallet. Coindesk compared it to a valet key that allows access to a car's doors and ignition but not the trunk.
The platform would be configured to operate within a public or private peer-to-peer network for blockchain management.
Bank of America's public relations office described the filing, in an email to PaymentsSource, as the recording of a "concept" and not a specific product the bank is creating.
Bank of America has won 36 blockchain patent applications, with 31 pending, according to Coindesk.
Among BofA's pending applications is a digital ledger that several banks can access and conduct settlements in real time, Cointelegraph reported.
The bank has also filed an application for blockchain "regulation architecture" and another for blockchain architecture to optimize system performance and data storage, Coindesk said.
