Smarkchain: An Amendable and Correctable Blockchain Based on Smart Markers

Abstract

Immutability is an important property of blockchain which ensures integrity and prevents forgery modification of previous transactions. However, immutability also prohibits the possibility of amending outdated codes and correcting typography or fraudulent data, both of which are common needs in many use cases. Therefore, a tradeoff that keeps the integrity guarantee but lifts the strict limitation of immutability is necessary to allow the practical applications of blockchain in areas other than cryptocurrencies. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme called Smarkchain, which will enhance blockchain technology with the features of amendment and correction by incorporating smart markers, an approach which enables multiway branching and merging in blockchain. Smarkchain has the unique advantages of allowing multiple consecutive blocks to be amended or corrected at one time, allowing multiple amendments or corrections over the same blocks, and not needing to modify existing blocks. Evaluation results of a prototype implementation show that our approach is practical.