Technology

How Bernstein works

Bernstein works right in your browser, nothing to install. One click gets you a Bitcoin blockchain certificate and trusted timestamps. No technical skills needed.

Four steps to IP protection

Upload, certify, keep, verify. It's that simple.

Upload your work

Documents, code, designs, datasets: upload any digital file. It's encrypted in your browser before it ever leaves your device.

Generate your certificates

One click anchors your file's fingerprint in the Bitcoin blockchain, plus separate timestamps from EU and Chinese timestamp providers on Scale and Enterprise plans.

Keep your certified files safe

Encrypted, versioned storage keeps every certified file at hand, ready the day you need to check a certificate.

Verify anywhere

Your certificates provide verifiable evidence of existence, integrity, and ownership. Anyone can validate them independently, without Bernstein's involvement.

Bitcoin certificates and trusted timestamps

One click, distinct certificates: a Bitcoin blockchain certificate, plus timestamp certificates issued by EU and Chinese trust service providers.

Bitcoin blockchain certificates

Bernstein writes a cryptographic fingerprint of your files, and proof of your ownership, into a Bitcoin transaction, the most powerful public registry there is. Anyone can check your files existed, unchanged, without asking us.

Trusted timestamp certificates

EU and Chinese timestamp authorities each sign a separate certificate tying your files' fingerprint to a date and time. Each one can be checked on its own.

A record of how your project develops

Every new version gets its own certificates. On Bitcoin, each one builds on the previous one, so your versions are chained publicly on the blockchain: a dated record of how your work came to life. Keep certifying as it evolves.

Important: Getting a certificate doesn't make your work public. The blockchain only holds its fingerprint; your files stay private.

What's in a Bitcoin certificate?

Cryptographic fingerprint (SHA-256 hash)
Bitcoin block timestamp
Proof of ownership attribution
Bitcoin blockchain anchor

Confidential by design

Everything you upload is encrypted locally in your browser before it reaches Bernstein's servers. The encryption key stays with you. It never reaches our servers, unless you share a file by Direct Share, which emails the key to your recipient inside the link.

Bernstein certifies your files without ever needing to see what's inside. Our team has worked on browser cryptography since 2007, using the Web Crypto API and proven cryptographic primitives.

Zero-knowledge architecture

Thanks to Bernstein's zero-knowledge architecture, you can certify your work without disclosing it to anyone. Your files are encrypted before they reach us.

1
Files encrypted client-side in your browser
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Encryption keys stay on your device by default
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Only fingerprints are registered on the blockchain

Multiple platforms, maximum proof

Bernstein pairs the Bitcoin blockchain with trusted timestamps from the EU and China.

Bitcoin blockchain

The most secure and immutable public ledger. Your certificates are anchored to the same network that secures billions in value.

EU qualified timestamps

Qualified timestamps under the EU's eIDAS regulation, presumed accurate in every EU member state.

China trusted timestamps

Trusted timestamps from a licensed Chinese timestamp authority, widely used as evidence in Chinese courts.

Growing legal acceptance worldwide

Blockchain certificates are gaining recognition in courts around the world.

Anyone, anywhere, can check the maths behind your certificates. How much legal weight they carry depends on the jurisdiction and the circumstances.

Chinese courts have accepted blockchain evidence in IP disputes since 2018. In the United States, federal rules let data authenticate itself through a matching hash, and states like Vermont, Arizona and Illinois have blockchain-specific laws.

The EU's eIDAS regulation prohibits courts from denying legal admissibility of timestamps solely on grounds that they don't meet qualified timestamp requirements.

Most legal systems already have a named instrument for showing a document existed on a given date - a deposit, a sealed envelope, a notarial record. A blockchain certificate is an alternative to that instrument rather than a replacement for the law behind it, and a court reads it under the same rules of electronic evidence.

Learn about legal evidence