Overlay Network Transaction History Tracking

Ty Everett ([e-mail])

Abstract

This document proposes a solution for tracking transaction histories within UTXO-based overlay networks by extending the BRC-22 standard to include transaction inputs and the BRC-24 standard's query responses to include such data in extended BRC-36 input envelopes. By associating previous transaction inputs with topic-specific UTXOs and facilitating history traversal, it allows network participants to access a more complete record of UTXO histories. This standard outlines the parameters and steps needed to capture, maintain, and access historical transactional data in overlay networks.

Motivation

BRC-22 successfully enables the tracking and synchronization of UTXOs across various topics in overlay networks, yet it does not accommodate the preservation of UTXO histories which can hold valuable network data. Transaction histories are key to understanding the full lifecycle of UTXOs, acting as a crucial component for certain applications in areas like network analysis and auditability. The absence of a history tracking standard leads to information gaps, preventing a comprehensive understanding of network state changes. This document presents a solution to this problem by providing a clear and standardized mechanism for maintaining and accessing transaction histories in UTXO-based overlay networks.

Specification

We introduce extensions to the BRC-22 and BRC-24 standards to encapsulate the input history of network transactions. Topic managers in BRC-22 can now prescribe which transaction inputs should be conserved and linked with the admitted transaction outputs, designating inputs that are pertinent for tracking. The BRC-24 standard, meanwhile, is adjusted to support the retrieval of past renditions of UTXOs.

Changes to the BRC-22 Standard

Topic managers in overlay networks now perform the following additional steps:

• Verify the inputs from the transaction tagged with their topic labels to determine their relevance.

• Provide a return value back to the Confederacy node directing it to retain these relevant transaction inputs, so that the node can maintain them alongside admitted transaction outputs for the specified topic.

• Relative location metadata and other associated data should be stored by the Confederacy node along with these inputs, enabling efficient topic-specific historical data retrieval.

Changes to the BRC-24 Standard

The lookup services specified under BRC-24 can now:

• Accept queries for the previous renditions of specific UTXOs (formats for these queries depend on the specific lookup service).

• Assemble and return a responsive list comprising of the series of transactions that involve the queried UTXOs along their states across the network's history.

• Extend the BRC-36 envelope return format, including transactions as inputs when they contribute to the history of the queried UTXOs.

Implementation

Developers should adapt their existing BRC-22 based systems to collect and preserve pertinent transaction inputs when admitting new transaction outputs. Lookup services following the BRC-24 standard must be updated to handle queries for prior renditions of UTXOs and effectively traverse transactional histories, extending their BRC-36 envelope returns to incorporate key transaction input data for the queried UTXOs. By adhering to the changes specified in this document, network participants can ensure interoperability, efficient data access and complete historical tracking of UTXOs across overlay networks.