Whitepaper - Factom With Cover
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Appendix 3: Timestamping into Bitcoin<br />
How the <strong>Factom</strong> Timestamping Mechanism Secures Transactions in the<br />
Blockchain<br />
<strong>Factom</strong> data is timestamped and made irreversible by the Bitcoin network. A user's data is as<br />
secure as any other Bitcoin transaction, once published to the Bitcoin blockchain. A compact<br />
proof of publication is possible for any data entered into the <strong>Factom</strong> system.<br />
Data is organized into block structures, the highest level being Directory Blocks, which are<br />
combined via Merkle trees. Every 10 minutes, the data set is frozen and submitted to the Bitcoin<br />
network. Since Bitcoin has an unpredictable block time, there may be more or fewer than one<br />
<strong>Factom</strong> timestamp per Bitcoin block.<br />
Bitcoin internal header block times themselves have a fluid idea of time. They have a 2 hour<br />
possible drift from reality. <strong>Factom</strong> will provide its own internal timestamps, adhering with<br />
standard time systems.<br />
The user data ordering will be assigned when received at the Federated servers. <strong>Factom</strong><br />
organizes the submitted Entry references into sets of blocks. The block time for <strong>Factom</strong> is one<br />
minute. On closing, the Federated Server network generates consensus and the Entries that are<br />
part of that block structure are timestamped to that minute.<br />
As a general note, the data could have existed long before it was timestamped. An Application<br />
running on top of <strong>Factom</strong> could provide finer and more accurate timestamping services prior to<br />
Entries being recorded in <strong>Factom</strong>. The <strong>Factom</strong> timestamp only proves the data did not originate<br />
after the <strong>Factom</strong> timestamp.<br />
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