Paper 2023/616

vetKeys: How a Blockchain Can Keep Many Secrets

Andrea Cerulli, DFINITY
Aisling Connolly, DFINITY
Gregory Neven
Franz-Stefan Preiss, DFINITY
Victor Shoup, DFINITY
Abstract

We propose a new cryptographic primitive called "verifiably encrypted threshold key derivation" (vetKD) that extends identity-based encryption with a decentralized way of deriving decryption keys. We show how vetKD can be leveraged on modern blockchains to build scalable decentralized applications (or "dapps") for a variety of purposes, including preventing front-running attacks on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, end-to-end encryption for decentralized messaging and social networks (SocialFi), cross-chain bridges, as well as advanced cryptographic primitives such as witness encryption and one-time programs that previously could only be built from secure hardware or using a trusted third party. And all of that by secret-sharing just a single secret key...

Metadata
Available format(s)
PDF
Category
Cryptographic protocols
Publication info
Preprint.
Keywords
Threshold cryptographyverifiably encrypted signaturesBLSend-to-end encryptionblockchainWeb3
Contact author(s)
andrea cerulli @ dfinity org
aisling connolly @ dfinity org
gregory @ neven org
franzstefan preiss @ dfinity org
victor shoup @ dfinity org
History
2023-05-01: approved
2023-04-30: received
See all versions
Short URL
https://ia.cr/2023/616
License
Creative Commons Attribution
CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2023/616,
      author = {Andrea Cerulli and Aisling Connolly and Gregory Neven and Franz-Stefan Preiss and Victor Shoup},
      title = {{vetKeys}: How a Blockchain Can Keep Many Secrets},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2023/616},
      year = {2023},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/616}
}
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