A company associated with the founders of the Gemini digital currency exchange, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss AKA the Winklevae, has been awarded a patent in the United States. Winklevoss IP LLP was granted a patent which relates to exchange-traded products. Besides the Winklevoss twins, others who have been cited as inventors of the blockchain technology are Gregory Elias Xethalis, Kathleen Hill Moriarty and Evan Louis Greebel.
The technology described in the patent details a technique of offering an exchange-trade product which holds digital assets. Additionally the patent includes details on share issuance. With exchange-traded products the price of the security is derived from investment instruments and this could include interest rates, share prices and commodities though in this case it is digital currencies. An application for the patent by Winklevoss IP LLP was filed last year in November.
Gemini exchange
It is likely that the technology described in the patent could be used to list a product on Gemini. At the beginning of the year a block trading facility was introduced on the exchange with a view of catering to a rising number of institutional investors including hedge funds. It is however unclear when such instruments could be launched since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stringent requirements in place.
Last year in March for instance the Winklevoss twins attempted to have a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund listed, a request the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected. It had also been expected that an exchange-traded fund would be introduced last year in December but this did not materialize either as a result of the strict rules that apply when listing.
Seven patents
So far Winklevoss IP LLP has been awarded seven patents that relate to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Last month the firm was granted a patent for a technology which allows the settlement of exchange-traded products using virtual currencies. The patent details program products, methods and systems which are to be used with the exchange-traded products.
Two months ago the Winklevoss brothers also received another patent that focused on the transaction security with regards to digital currencies. All indications were that the technology described in the patent was to be used on the Gemini exchange.