Cryptocurrency patents? Yes, Goldman Sachs did it!

Last month, multinational banking giant Goldman Sachs filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a securities settlement system based on a new cryptocurrency, dubbed “SETLcoin.”

According to the patent application page on the official website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on November 19, Goldman Sachs outlined a "cryptocurrency designed for securities settlement" that allows peer-to-peer participants to exchange cryptographic tokens to represent instant securities settlement transactions.

The patent application is described as follows:

“Traders place their funds in their wallets and use the technology to trade open securities. After verification and validation, the ownership of the SETLcoin is instantly transferred to the new owner, based on a peer-to-peer network ledger that ensures near-instant execution and settlement.”

SETLcoin transactions are conducted through wallet software, and utilize SETLcoin tokens to represent specific securities, such as IBM and Google stock as an example (hypothetical):

“A SETLcoin wallet or transaction can hold a single share as described above, or multiple denominations of the same share (e.g., 1 IBM-S SETLcoin is worth 100 IBM shares). A SETLcoin wallet or transaction can also hold multiple shares (e.g., an IBM-S SETLcoin and 2 GOOG-S SETLcoins).”

“In some embodiments, the issuance (and destruction) of project-based cryptocurrencies (PICS) is typically done by a highly authoritative entity,” the patent application explains. “For example, U.S. dollars can exist in the form of tokens on the SETLcoin network, such as issued by the U.S. Treasury.” (Translator’s Note: Similar to the anchored U.S. dollar (bitUSD), but there are differences)

The patent application further discusses which crypto tokens can be tokenized or exchanged.

“However, the technology described herein can be used to issue native cryptocurrencies based on a variety of other methods (e.g., network node agreements, exchange regulation, leasing or purchasing, auctions, etc.), and can also be used to name things, such as a company’s name, its market symbol, brand, etc..”

The patent application also states that SETLcoin can be traded for other cryptocurrencies, specifically mentioning Bitcoin and Litecoin.

"SETLcoins are exchangeable, not just for SETLcoins, but also for other cryptocurrencies (e.g., Peercoins). For example, a single IBM-S SETLcoin may be exchangeable for 1 or more 'GOOG' SETLcoins (i.e., Google stock), or for 13,000 USD SETLcoins, or 100 Litecoins, or 5 Bitcoins," the patent application states.

The bank participated in a $50 million funding round for bitcoin payments startup Circle earlier this year.

It is reported that companies that have applied for cryptocurrency-related patents include eBay, 21 Company, Coinbase, Bank of America, Mastercard, Amazon, Western Union and JPMorgan Chase.

Original text: http://www.coindesk.com/219116/
By Stan Higgins
Compiled by: Satuoxi
Editor: Satuoxi
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/goldman-sachs-setlcoin)