Verifiable Encrypted Timed Signature Scheme and Its Application in Blockchains
Summary
Verifiable Encrypted Timed Signatures (VETS) is a new cryptographic tool that improves security in blockchain transactions by separating the ability to verify a signature from the ability to extract it. Unlike earlier timed signature schemes where someone could start solving immediately upon receiving the signature, VETS ensures extraction only happens after an unlock key is released, which can be tied to an external condition like publishing a refund transaction, protecting users in atomic swaps (trades between two parties without a middleman) from malicious actors with powerful hardware.
Solution / Mitigation
The proposed solution is VETS itself, which addresses the problem by 'separating public verification from time-based extraction.' Specifically, the source states: 'Extraction is possible only after an unlock key is released, and the key can be tied to an outside event or condition.' The example implementation demonstrates this with 'an atomic swap protocol in which the initiator can start solving only after the counterparty publishes the refund transaction,' ensuring that 'even with high-performance hardware, the initiator cannot extract the hidden signature before the refund transaction is published.'
Classification
Original source: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11614739
First tracked: September 26, 2026 at 02:01 AM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 95%