This non-monetary application of the blockchain will modify forever some services, still centralized. The developers of OpenTimeStamps have perceived that the qualities of immutability and timestamping of a Blockchain can bring the notary service to a next level, decentralizing it. There is the possibility for an operator to send a non-expendable transaction by adding the OP_RETURN code. This allows the senders to send messages in bytes, words, files or documents. Combining this function with the timestamping feature, which is the precise timing of a file placed on the blockchain, any file can be recorded without the need for a notary. Furthermore, since each file is combined with its own hash value, it can not be modified and only the senders can display it in full.
It’s timestamping infrastructure with three big advantages over the existing alternatives:
Trust — OpenTimestamps uses the decentralized, publicly auditable, Bitcoin blockchain, removing the need for trusted authorities; OpenTimestamps’s architecture is designed to support multiple, cross-checked, notarization methods in the future.
Cost — OpenTimestamps scales indefinitely, allowing timestamps to be created for free by combining an unlimited number of timestamps into one Bitcoin transaction.
Convenience — OpenTimestamps can create a third-party-verifiable timestamp in about a second; you don’t need to wait for a Bitcoin confirmation.
Anyone could realize a timestamp with the permissionless blockchain by paying the transaction fees, for your convenience we offer calendar servers that perform this operation for you. These servers are free to use and they don’t require any registration or api key.
Timestamps can provide evidence that ownership records are accurate. While a timestamp on an art provenance record such as a gallery sales receipt doesn’t by itself prove that record is valid, it can limit the scope of potential fraud, allowing provenance investigators to focus their efforts by eliminating many of the possible fraud scenarios they may be dealing with.
