System and method for decentralized digital structured data storage, management, and authentication using blockchain

Abstract

There is disclosed a novel system and method for decentralized digital structured data storage, management, and authentication. In an embodiment, the present system comprises pieces of digital structured data (including but not limited to, digital images, digital videos, digital audio, digital text, and digital computational graph representations), computer nodes for storing pieces of digital structured data and for creating references to portions of stored pieces of digital structured data, a network connecting the computer nodes, and a blockchain. In an embodiment, a piece of digital structured data is stored on a computer node, and the computer node creates a reference to a portion of the stored piece of digital structured data. The computer node then broadcasts a request for the reference to be added to the blockchain to all computer nodes through a network connecting all computer nodes. Upon receiving the request, the computer nodes in the network validate the request as well as the status of the computer node. Upon a successful validation of the request, a block is created using the reference along with a timestamp and a digitally signed hash of a previous block, and the block is added to the blockchain. In an illustrative embodiment, a user can validate the authenticity of content within a piece of digital structured data on a computer node by selecting portions of the piece of digital structured data to trace. Each of the selected portions of the piece of digital structured data is then traced on the computer node through the blockchain to trace the original source of the portion of the piece of digital structured data, and identify if the content has been previously modified and by whom.