Earlier on Tuesday, October 30th, Bank of America was awarded a patent for a device that stores cryptographic keys.
Also, as per stated by the document’s details, it shows possible applications for cryptocurrencies.
The bank summarises a “hardened storage device” for storing private key similar to the ones used for blockchain platforms as per the patent awarded Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The bank also explained that currently a majority of the keys that are stored locally are protected by just one password.
According to the patent awarded:
“In specific embodiments of the system, the authentication routine is conducted as part of a crypto-currency transaction, a blockchain transaction or the like.”
Notably, there have been several mentions of “cryptocurrencies” in the patent.
According to Bank of America, given that computers storing these keys are usually connected to the internet or other public networks, local storage means that they “are continuously susceptible to being misappropriated.”
The patent further explains, “Therefore, a need exists for a secure means for storing private cryptography keys,” also additionally explaining that the risk of a user’s private key being stolen should be reduced through this storage method.
Also, given that the company frequently files patents in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, it is quite expected That Bank of America would suggest that its technology patents could be applied to the realm of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Earlier in June, a report published by Fortune revealed that The Bank of America had backed itself with patent rights to dozens of possible applications in a bid to “be prepared” for any future use cases.
At an event hosted in the state of New York, Catherine Bessant, CTO of The Bank of America said, “While we’ve not found large-scale opportunities, we want to be ahead of it we want to be prepared.’