You know how you sometimes do nice things and somehow you don’t want people to see that it was you who did it? That doesn’t mean you do not wish to have rights to it though, you just do not want the attention that comes with it. I mean, imagine making a painting like the Mona Lisa and becoming the next Da Vinci, but you do not want to be Da Vinci, you just want to be the regular you.

If that scenario is something you can relate to, then ring signatures in Blockchain might have just been created for you specifically. Continue reading to learn how it works and how it could apply to you.

What are Ring Signatures in Blockchain?

A ring signature is a digital signature that can be signed by any member of a group of users with keys.

Imagine having a clubhouse with a group of friends that you keep locked and only you and your friends have the key to access it. In this clubhouse, you all make drawings individually but you don’t sign your names onto them, instead, you use a special stamp that has the logo of your clubhouse so when other people see the drawing they will know it was made in your clubhouse but they won’t know who it was among you and your friends that made the drawing.

This is the concept that ring structures in blockchain are based on to ensure the privacy and anonymity of transactions in blockchain technology.

How do Ring Signatures work?

For ring signatures to function properly and fulfill the purpose for which they were created, some features and steps must be available. These characteristics include a group of signers, key pairs, signing process, and verification.

Group of Signers

A ring signature requires a group of signers because this is the only way anonymity can be guaranteed in this system. This goes to say that the minimum number of signers is two and there isn’t a strict maximum limit. However, you should know that a larger number of signers will require additional computational resources and efficiency; and while a larger ring offers more anonymity, it doesn’t significantly enhance privacy, as too many people will know who the actual signer is.

Key Pairs

Each member of the group has their own public and private key pair. The public keys are known and can be used to verify the signature but they do not reveal which specific private key was used to generate it.

Typically, Public keys are known to everyone and can be used to send you secure messages or to verify your signatures; and private keys are kept secret. They are used to send secure messages to you or to create signatures that prove a message is from you.

Signing Process

The signing process is such that the actual signer creates a signature using their private key and the public keys of the other members of the group. The signature appears as if it could have been generated by any of the members, hence, ensuring anonymity.

Verification

The signature can be verified against the public keys of all group members but it’s computationally impossible to determine which private key was used.

The Use of Ring Signatures in Blockchain

Privacy and Anonymity: Ring signatures allow transactions to be signed in a way that hides the identity of the sender, making it difficult to trace the transaction to a specific user. They are also used in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero.
Untraceable Transactions: When transactions are signed using a ring signature, it is cannot be easily traced back to the sender.