Application for Electronic Signatures Using Blockchain Technology to Support Trust, Sovereignty and Privacy

Electronic signatures are an essential component in the digitalization of processes and communication. When designing signature systems, legal regulations and data protection principles must be taken into account in addition to trust issues. This paper presents a web-based signature application using blockchain technology that also shows how signature information can be verified across providers with the help of a public blockchain. This design is intended to strengthen principles such as trust, sovereignty, data protection and data security as well as trust in the implemented system. Furthermore, new concepts such as URL- and QR code-based placeholders for signatures were implemented and tested, which have the potential to further accelerate and decentralize business processes. The system design is based on a set of criteria relating to trust, usability, privacy and the legal situation. In particular, the tension between data protection regulations and the use of blockchain technology had to be addressed. In addition, an iterative cost optimization of the Smart Contracts was applied in order to improve the potential economic viability of the system.