Blocklock: Decoding locks of on-chain blocks

As part of week#3 in Threshold Cryptography Bootcamp, we deployed our ‘randamu’ submarine and sailed deeper into the “blocklock” ecosystem.

We shed light on Blocklock Encryption, a powerful tool for managing sensitive information while leveraging the transparency and immutability of decentralized networks.

This blog is more-of-a guide to explore its core components, show you how to get started, and spark your imagination with innovative use cases.

So, What or Why Blocklock Encryption?

Traditional blockchains are great for transparency, but sometimes we need to keep certain data private.

Imagine a decentralized auction where bids need to be confidential until the reveal, or a supply chain where only authorized parties see specific shipment details or James Bond’s email that gets unlocked after a certain period (& then vanishes — this needs engineering).

Blocklock Encryption addresses this by enabling conditional decryption, meaning data can only be revealed when predefined conditions are met.

The Blocklock Ecosystem: Your Toolkit for Confidentiality

Blocklock provides a suite of tools to help you integrate confidential encryption into your decentralized applications (dApps). Let's break down the key players:

• Blocklock-js: This JavaScript library is your gateway to client-side Blocklock encryption and decryption. Think of it as the tool for your front-end applications to encrypt data before it hits the blockchain and decrypt it when conditions are met. It also offers utilities for conditional encryption, network management, and gas estimation.

• Blocklock-solidity: For the ‘smart contract’ side of things, Blocklock-solidity allows your smart contracts to make Blocklock requests, manage funding, and trigger conditions for decryption on-chain. This is where the magic of conditional access happens!✨

• Blocklock-frontend-kit: This starter kit provides a quick and easy way to jumpstart your dApp development with Blocklock. It offers pre-built components and examples to help you integrate Blocklock encryption into your user interface seamlessly.

Getting Started with Blocklock: A Quick Walkthrough

Ready to build? Here's a simplified path to integrating Blocklock Encryption into your project:

1. Install Blocklock Libraries: Start by installing blocklock-js for your frontend and blocklock-solidity for your smart contracts.

   • For blocklock-js:

       npm install blocklock-js
     

   • For blocklock-solidity: You'll typically integrate this as a dependency in your smart contract development environment (e.g., Hardhat, Foundry).

2. Encrypt Data (Frontend with blocklock-js):

   • Create an instance of blocklock-js for your chosen network.

   • Use the encryption function to encrypt your data, defining the conditions under which it can be decrypted. These conditions could be anything from a specific time to a certain address holding an NFT. (be mindful of conditions)

3. Request Decryption (Smart Contract with blocklock-solidity):

   • Your smart contract will implement AbstractBlocklockReceiver.

   • When the decryption conditions are met, your smart contract will trigger a Blocklock request.

   • You'll then override a callback function in your smart contract to handle the decrypted data.

4. Manage Funding: Blocklock operations involve costs. You have two main funding options:

   • Subscription-Based Funding: Multiple contracts can share a pooled subscription, and request costs are deducted from this pool.

   • Direct Contract Funding: Your contract manages its own balance, and costs are deducted directly from it.

     

Ideas to build upon Blocklock Encryption

The possibilities with Blocklock Encryption are vast! Here are some creative and innovative ideas to spark your imagination:

• Confidential DeFi Products:

  • Sealed-Bid Auctions: As implemented here, participants submit encrypted bids, and only the highest bid is revealed after the auction closes. This prevents front-running and ensures fair play.

  • Private Lending Pools: Users can contribute to a lending pool without revealing the exact amount they've deposited until specific loan conditions are met.

  • Conditional Insurance Policies: Insurance payouts could be encrypted and only decrypted and released when a verifiable event (e.g., a flight delay, ‘change in color of sky :))’, a natural disaster) occurs.

• Secure Data Management and Access Control:

  • Medical Records on Blockchain: Encrypted medical records could be stored on-chain, with access granted only to authorized medical professionals or researchers under specific, verifiable conditions.

  • Confidential HR Data: Employee performance reviews, salary information, or sensitive personal data could be encrypted, with access restricted to specific HR personnel or the employee themselves.

• Enhanced Gaming and NFTs:

  • "Blind Box" NFTs: The contents of an NFT could be encrypted and revealed only after purchase or the completion of a specific in-game challenge.

  • Secret Quests and Lore: Game developers could store encrypted clues or story elements on-chain, which are revealed to players only after they achieve certain milestones or solve puzzles.

  • Competitive Gaming with Hidden Strategies: In strategy games, players' initial moves or resource allocations could be encrypted and revealed simultaneously at the start of a round to ensure fairness.

• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) with Confidentiality:

  • Private Voting: DAOs could implement private voting for sensitive proposals, where individual votes remain encrypted until the final tally. This prevents influence peddling and promotes unbiased decision-making.

  • Confidential Treasury Management: Specific investment strategies or financial details within a DAO's treasury could be encrypted and accessible only to designated financial committees.

Gist

Blocklock Encryption opens up a new realm of possibilities for building dApps that are not only transparent and secure but also respect the need for confidentiality. By combining the power of blockchain with conditional access, you can create innovative solutions across various industries.

So, ace up your sleeves, explore the Blocklock libraries, and start building the next generation of private and powerful decentralized applications!

Happy building!😄🚀

Resources:

https://github.com/randa-mu/blocklock-js

https://github.com/rk-rishikesh/blocklock-frontend-kit

https://github.com/randa-mu/blocklock-solidity

https://docs.drand.love/blog/2025/03/04/onchain-sealed-bid-auction/

https://docs.dcipher.network/quickstart/blocklock