TruChain: A Multi-Layer Architecture for Trusted, Verifiable, and Immutable Open Banking Data

2025-07-10

AI Summary

Open banking faces critical technical risks, including untrustworthy data sources, insufficient data integrity, and absence of immutability. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a three-layer trust architecture integrating decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), cryptographic signatures, and the Tangle—a lightweight directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based distributed ledger. The architecture enables source authentication, content integrity verification, and tamper-proof storage, respectively. It represents the first effort to synergistically embed DID/VC mechanisms with the Tangle ledger into open banking data flows, establishing an end-to-end verifiable and fully traceable data sharing paradigm. Experimental evaluation of the prototype system demonstrates stable throughput, 100% verification success rate, CPU utilization below 35%, and memory consumption under 350 MiB—significantly reducing latency while enhancing data integrity assurance.

Technology Category

• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Representing, Reasoning, and Using Provenance, Trust
• Search and Optimization: Distributed Search
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data provenance, reliability, and authenticity
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Open banking framework enables third party providers to access financial data across banking institutions, leading to unprecedented innovations in the financial sector. However, some open banking standards remain susceptible to severe technological risks, including unverified data sources, inconsistent data integrity, and lack of immutability. In this paper, we propose a layered architecture that provides assurance in data trustworthiness with three distinct levels of trust, covering source validation, data-level authentication, and tamper-proof storage. The first layer guarantees the source legitimacy using decentralized identity and verifiable presentation, while the second layer verifies data authenticity and consistency using cryptographic signing. Lastly, the third layer guarantees data immutability through the Tangle, a directed acyclic graph distributed ledger. We implemented a proof-of-concept implementation of our solution to evaluate its performance, where the results demonstrate that the system scales linearly with a stable throughput, exhibits a 100% validation rate, and utilizes under 35% of CPU and 350 MiB memory. Compared to a real-world open banking implementation, our solution offers significantly reduced latency and stronger data integrity assurance. Overall, our solution offers a practical and efficient system for secure data sharing in financial ecosystems while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Problem

• Ensures trusted open banking data sharing
• Verifies data authenticity and consistency
• Guarantees immutability using distributed ledger

Innovation

• Decentralized identity for source legitimacy
• Cryptographic signing for data authenticity
• Tangle ledger for data immutability