US Patent 12095926 Retroactively adding encryption and/or authentication levels to a blockchain

A request to retroactively add one or more of an encryption level, an encryption type, a security level, and an authentication level to an existing blockchain is received. An authentication/encryption block is added to the existing blockchain. The authentication/encryption block comprises the one or more of the encryption level, the encryption type, the security level, and the authentication level. Based on the added authentication/encryption block in the existing blockchain, the one or more of the encryption level, the encryption type, the security level, and the authentication level are retroactively applied to at least a portion of blockchain data in the existing blockchain. In one embodiment, a data structure is used in place of the authentication/encryption block.