Input Output Global (IOG), the company behind the Cardano blockchain, is preparing to sign a big event. It is launching a new privacy-focused blockchain called Midnight and a token called Dust to accompany the new network.
A New Star Is Born
Midnight, powered by zero-knowledge-proof technology, is one of many side chains currently deployed around Cardano and will go beyond previous privacy-coin projects by offering zero-knowledge-proof contracts, IOG CEO Charles Hoskinson said at an event held at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday.
Hoskinson said the system would walk the line between protecting privacy and allowing regulators and auditors to open a backdoor into the system when Decency permits.
In an interview Hoskinson gave, referring to two other privacy coins and encryption methods:
Midnight developed the privacy coin technology, where everything is anonymous by default, which is what Zcash and Monero did with Snarks and ring signatures. This is a completely new way to write and run custom smart contracts, custom calculation. So you can have a private DEX (decentralized exchange) or you can do mining on an anonymous data set or that kind of thing.
Privacy coins have always been glorified by crypto libertarians, but they have been cautiously welcomed by regulators who fear how the technology could help facilitate financial crimes.
Hoskinson Noted the Attention to Detail
However, Hoskinson noted that privacy is a legal requirement that every business needs to explore these days, but the difficulty of figuring out how to add privacy to blockchains is hindering its adoption.
Hoskinson:
You need programmability; you can’t just take Zcash and fork it and somehow it works. What was needed was to be able to write these things in a normal programming language, not some weird Snark language, JavaScript or something like that, something that developers can understand and you can guarantee your privacy.
Hoskinson said that the article titled “Kachina” published by IOG two years ago, which examined privacy-enhanced smart contracts, is now beginning to bear fruit in the real world. Hoskinson explained that this has aroused interest in the once much-talked-about world of enterprise blockchains, Midnight will work with Hyperledger, a consortium of large firms that research private and permissioned ledgers on topics such as supply chain management, for example.
Hoskinson made the following statement:
That’s exactly what businesses want. We’ve seen Walmart and some of the biggest companies in the world working on privacy with Hyperledger. At the same time, we can also meet traditional cryptocurrency needs, you can see that, especially when you look at DEXs who want to avoid front-running and that kind of thing.
Are you following our Telegram address?
