Zoho Sign Blockchain Timestamping Explained

Zoho Sign: Blockchain Timestamping

Blockchain Timestamping in Zoho Sign gives an additional layer of document verification, publicly establishing signer accountability and creating an immutable, independently verifiable record that a document was signed at a specific point in time.

A Significant Change: Ethereum to Bitcoin

Important: Zoho Sign originally used the Ethereum public blockchain for timestamping, but no longer does. Since November 2021, blockchain-based timestamping has been performed on the Bitcoin network instead, via an integration with the third-party service OpenTimestamps. Documents timestamped before November 2021 remain verifiable, but use a different verification process specific to Ethereum, separate from the current method.

How It Works

  1. A document is signed digitally in Zoho Sign.
  2. A hash of the document is generated.
  3. A timestamp request, along with the document hash, is sent to OpenTimestamps' servers.
  4. Requests are aggregated and recorded periodically on the Bitcoin network via a small Bitcoin transaction containing the aggregated data.
  5. Once the transaction is committed to the blockchain, a verifiable proof is generated and mapped against the document within Zoho Sign.
Note: Only the document's hash is recorded on the blockchain, not the actual document content, so your document itself is never exposed publicly. Confirmation can take up to 8 hours depending on Bitcoin network congestion.

Availability and Cost

Available on Enterprise edition, currently at no additional cost, though Zoho has flagged this may become a chargeable feature in future. Administrators can toggle Blockchain Time-Stamping on or off directly from Zoho Sign account settings.

A Newer, Non-Blockchain Alternative

Zoho Sign has since also introduced Trusted Document Timestamping via SEIKO Cyber Time, now available across all data centres, offering a similarly trusted timestamp without relying on a public blockchain. Depending on your compliance requirements, this may be a suitable alternative or complement to blockchain-based timestamping.

Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you configure blockchain or trusted timestamping in Zoho Sign to meet your document verification and compliance needs. Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.