Blockchain Technology

<aside> ❓ Why do you need blockchain and not just any other traditional, good old security/cryptographic approach

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The reason we use the blockchain is simple: trust. Public blockchains are the first and only way to create a consensus over specific data existing at a precise time and controlled by a defined entity - without relying on any central authority. This means you can prove the existence, integrity, and ownership of data/IP/ideas completely independently, and no-one can argue the validity of the claim. This is particularly valuable in an economy that is increasingly global i.e. you need to be able to prove your rights globally - and potentially for a long time. That's why we use the most decentralized and robust blockchain, most suited as a public registry - the Bitcoin blockchain. That being said, we don't reject more traditional means entirely: Bernstein also creates official EU and Chinese timestamps along with the Blockchain certificates. Their validity is constricted to their respective geopolitical context, of course.

<aside> ❓ How is this proven in court and how do we know if the court will accept it?

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From a technological perspective, anyone can independently double-check the strength of the app by inspecting what goes on in the browser, and follow the public and independent step-by-step validation process (found here). Consequently, it can be proved to everyone, including judges and courts, that the evidence you created with Bernstein is sound and trustworthy.

Legally, we're relying both on pre-existing cases (such as the Chinese court case in June 2018) and explicit regulations and directives across the globe. You can find an overview of the legal situation in different countries here.

Finally, to curtail any remaining doubt, Bernstein leverages more traditional, official national timestamp services that have long been used & accepted in their respective jurisdiction (EU & China, for the moment).

<aside> ❓ Can I access my BTC wallet?

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We do not offer a proper interface to the BTC HD wallet that any Bernstein user gets when signing up.

The wallet is only used for two main purposes:

You can validate a BTC certificate either using the validator web app, or by following the instructions for independent validation that are available here.

I hope this answers your questions.

The Bernstein app