A blockchain-based pattern for confidential and pseudo-anonymous contract enforcement

Abstract

Blockchain has been praised for its capacity to hold data in a decentralized and tamper-proof way. It also supports the execution of code through blockchain's smart contracts, adding automation of actions to the network with high trustability. However, as smart contracts are visible by anybody on the network, the business data and logic may be at risk, thus companies could be reluctant to use such technology. This paper aims to propose a pattern that allows the execution of automatable legal contract clauses, where its execution states are stored in an on-chain smart-contract and the logic needed to enforce it wraps it off-chain. An engine completes this pattern by running a business process that corresponds to the legal contract. We then propose a pattern-based solution based on a real-life use case: transportation of refrigerated goods. We argue that this pattern guarantees companies pseudonymity and data confidentiality while ensuring that an audit trail can be reconstituted through the blockchain smart-contract to identify misbehavior or errors. This paper paves the way for a future possible implementation of the solution described, as well as its evaluation.