Systems and methods for deterministic ordering and enforcing intra-block fairness in distributed ledger implementations

A system, comprising:

• a distributed ledger network comprising a plurality of nodes, wherein each node comprises a hardware security module comprising arbitrary ordering logic based on a definition of fairness agreed to by the plurality of nodes;
• and
• a consensus algorithm executed by the plurality of nodes;
• wherein:
• one of the hardware security modules at one of a plurality of nodes receives a plurality of transactions for execution;
• the one of the hardware security modules orders the plurality of transactions based on the arbitrary ordering logic;
• the one of the hardware security modules outputs the plurality of transactions as an ordered set of transactions;
• the plurality of nodes reach consensus for the ordered set of transactions using the consensus algorithm;
• and
• the consensus algorithm writes the ordered set of transactions as a block to the distributed ledger network.

A hardware security module at one of a plurality of nodes in a distributed ledger network, comprising:

• a computer processor;
• and
• a memory storing a computer program;
• wherein, when executed by the computer processor, the computer program:
• receives arbitrary ordering logic based on a definition of fairness agreed to by the plurality of nodes;
• receives a plurality of transactions for execution;
• orders the plurality of transactions based on the arbitrary ordering logic;
• and
• outputs the plurality of transactions as an ordered set of transactions;
• wherein a consensus algorithm executed by the distributed ledger network commits the ordered set of transactions to the distributed ledger as a block.