Escrow protocols for cryptocurrencies: How to buy physical goods using bitcoin

Steven Goldfeder, Joseph Bonneau, Rosario Gennaro, Arvind Narayanan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

We consider the problem of buying physical goods with cryptocurrencies. There is an inherent circular dependency: should be the buyer trust the seller and pay before receiving the goods or should the seller trust the buyer and ship the goods before receiving payment? This dilemma is addressed in practice using a third party escrow service. However, we show that naive escrow protocols introduce both privacy and security issues. We formalize the escrow problem and present a suite of schemes with improved security and privacy properties. Our schemes are compatible with Bitcoin and similar blockchain-based cryptocurrencies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationFinancial Cryptography and Data Security - 21st International Conference, FC 2017, Revised Selected Papers
EditorsAggelos Kiayias
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages321-339
Number of pages19
ISBN (Print)9783319709710
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Event21st International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, FC 2017 - Sliema, Malta
Duration: Apr 3 2017Apr 7 2017

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10322 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other21st International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, FC 2017
Country/TerritoryMalta
CitySliema
Period4/3/174/7/17

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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