How to generate a unique hash value based on current timestamp?

Question

I want to generate a unique hash value based on the current timestamp. I tried to get the current timestamp by block.timestamp but it gives me the same number every time so my generated hash value is not unique. How do I deal with this?

    function generateUniqueHash() public onlyOwner returns (bytes32) {
        return keccak256(abi.encodePacked("secret", block.timestamp));
    }

Answer 1

Works perfectly fine on my end:

first try:

{
    "0": "bytes32: 0x4fa4ee671213fd09d919f9e20942fca229302f8636cc722667a844518fdafe1d"
}

second try:

{
    "0": "bytes32: 0x1be2ff47184adae85d9ed4e084d5cab1be81a64dee3601dacafe7ae7b90b6d07"
}

and the third one:

{
    "0": "bytes32: 0xc9fe1eefcfec97a5981d0535e1d594957337ce7086a8431d14ed50942ec9437d"
}

Answer 2

If it is for a commercial project, please note that block.timestamp is not the best source of entropy/randomness as miners can (almost) freely set it: Block Timestamp Manipulation

Ex: if you are designing a money game where the outcome depends on that data, and if there is BIG money involved, it is always possible for a miner to include a transaction to your contract and predict, based on your formula, which particular value of block.timestamp will give them an advantage.

A good alternative would be to use Chainlink VRF

Otherwise, for prototyping or projects not involving money, it is of course perfectly fine to use block.timestamp

Answer 3

You can try using a unique identifier like the transaction hash or the block number to generate a unique hash value.

Here is an example using the transaction hash:

function generateUniqueHash() public onlyOwner returns (bytes32) {
    return keccak256(abi.encodePacked("secret", tx.hash));
}

And here is an example using the block number:

function generateUniqueHash() public onlyOwner returns (bytes32) {
    return keccak256(abi.encodePacked("secret", block.number));
}

Note that the block number and transaction hash can be easily accessed within a contract, so you should use them with caution as they can potentially be exploited by attackers.