U.S. Patent 10958421 was awarded to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION on March 23, 2021 and is entitled “User access control in blockchain.” The first named inventor is Woong A. Yoon of Boxborough, MA. The abstract contains an overview of the patent disclosure:

A method, computer system, and a computer program product for controlling access to an asset in a blockchain network is provided. The present invention may include encrypting the asset using a target encryption key. The present invention may also include storing the encrypted asset on a ledger. The present invention may then include receiving a start encryption key to access the asset. The present invention may further include traversing a graph of keys beginning with the start encryption key across a plurality of nodes and edges until reaching the target encryption key. The present invention may also include allowing access to the asset based on reaching the target encryption key. Link to Full Patent

This blockchain patent was originally filed on November 20, 2018  as U.S. Patent Application 16/196405 at the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office. The application was them awarded a patent grant and published as U.S. Patent 10958421. The primary examiner was Ashokkumar B Patel.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, who is the original assignee of this patent, has at least 150818 total granted patents in the United States as of the date of this article. This blockchain patent has been cited 0 times by other U.S. patents according to our law firm research, and can be considered an innovative patent in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

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