Exploring digital timestamping using smart contract on the
Solana blockchain
Proc. SPIE 12586, Second International Conference on Green
Communication, Network, and Internet of Things (CNIoT 2022),
125860T (8 March 2023);
Abstract: Timestamps establish a means to dictate the
existence of a message at a particular moment in the
past. Traditional digital timestamping service utilizes
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and thus requires the
presence of a Time Stamping Authority, whose job is to
ensure the message’s validity. However, with the rise of
distributed computing and blockchain technology, it has
become possible to obtain timestamps in a decentralized
manner, eliminating the need for central authorities.
Previous research involves sending transactions or
utilizing a smart contract mechanism to store hashes on
blockchain and validating the outcome using public
ledgers. By prototyping a simple digital timestamping
protocol on the Solana blockchain, this article explores
the natural advantages of the Solana blockchain for
timestamping, implements a smart contract of digital
timestamping on the Solana blockchain, and measures its
latency, costs, and performance. The initial estimation
expects the accuracy of the timestamps produced by the
prototype to reach the average sub-second slot time.
However, due to network propagation delay, it is not
always possible to hit this level. The cost incurred
during the process is also analyzed and discussed.
Finally, this article highlights the potential ability
of the blockchain to provide modern decentralized
services.
