Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) subsidiary tZERO, has received a US patent for the “Time Ordered Merkle Epoch (TOME) methodology.”
TOME is described as a “base-layer technology that uses digital signatures to record and verify time-series data such as trades, executions and settlements.” This tech is said to enable “low-latency systems, including traditional matching engines or private blockchain ledgers, to be anchored into immutable public blockchain ledgers.”
In brief, TOME undergirds trading on the tZERO platform. tZERO states that the system provides “valuable functionality to exchanges and trading venues required to report trade activity, as well as to regulators for audit purposes.”
Saum Noursalehi, tZERO CEO commented on the patent stating that the technology has many use-cases in their ecosystem.
“It can be used in our suite of products, as well as licensed to companies across various industries that are seeking to maintain a tamper-proof and auditable record of time-series-based data. Today’s announcement showcases our technological leadership in blockchain innovation and underscores the strength of tZERO’s intellectual property and its growing portfolio of strategic assets.”
In conjunction with the patent, tZERO was granted in January 2019, TOME can be utilized to link the settlement of tokenized blockchain-based securities on a public blockchain with legacy trading systems.
Additionally, it can record and anchor the execution venue’s transactional data and the resulting on-chain settlement data into public blockchain ledgers. For example, off-chain trade data and on-chain settlement data occurring on an Ethereum mainnet can be combined and anchored into the Bitcoin blockchain for added resiliency, security and transparency.
