privacy

Zero-knowledge proofs and similar cryptographic approaches to blockchain network privacy are “in their infancy,” and aren’t ready to be widely deployed in CBDC systems.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has launched a fund to support software developers working on privacy-focused Bitcoin projects.

Chainalysis has added support for Dash and Zcash in two of its compliance software offerings, explaining how it can investigate privacy coin transactions.

Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based mixer that uses zero-knowledge proofs, has completed its trusted setup ceremony, taking a key step towards becoming "fully trustless."

When the markets crashed in mid-March, investors appeared to dump bitcoin along with nearly every other asset in their pursuit of cash, leaving enthusiasts to wonder whether it really is a “safe-haven.” After all, bitcoin has underperformed the equity market for much of the time since the crisis hit. But even though bitcoin as an asset […]

StarkWare, a project that is working to help blockchains scale, has said that Ethereum has massive potential to scale due to its recent Istanbul network update. According to StarkWare’s “measurements (not approximations, nor estimates),” Ethereum’s scalability has the potential to improve by 2,000 times over Ethereum Layer-1 after the Istanbul update. Post-Istanbul Ethereum can handle […]

Riccardo “Fluffypony” Spagni, the lead maintainer of privacy-oriented cryptocurrency monero (XMR), has stepped down. Fluffypony led the monero project since its launch in 2014 and will now continue as a backup maintainer, according to an announcement Monday. Snipa, a “longtime” contributor to Monero, is taking over Fluffypony’s role. It is not clear why Fluffypony has […]

Privacy-focused internet browser Brave says that it has passed 10 million-mark in terms of monthly active users (MAU). Brave’s MAU figure was 8.7 million in October and jumped to 10.4 million at the end of November, witnessing nearly 20% growth during the period and almost 100% in the last one year, according to an announcement […]

Payments processing giant PayPal has cut off services for adult entertainment site, Pornhub. In a Wednesday night blog post, Pornhub said it is “devastated by PayPal’s decision to stop payouts” adding that “over a hundred thousand performers” on the website rely on these payments for their “livelihoods.” A PayPal spokesperson told VICE’s Motherboard that “Following […]

The Unknown Fund, organized by a group of anonymous people, plans to invest and donate $75 million in bitcoin (BTC) to those startups working directly or indirectly on enhancing privacy. Announcing the news on Wednesday, the Unknown Fund said it would prefer startups working on four niches – personal data protection, tools for online anonymity, […]

Samsung SDS, an IT subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate, has added privacy-enhancing technology to its enterprise blockchain solution Nexledger. The firm has partnered with Israeli tech startup QEDIT for the effort, according to a press release shared with The Block on Thursday. QEDIT leverages zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) cryptography to help enterprises control business data […]

Electric Coin Company (ECC), the maker of privacy-oriented cryptocurrency zcash, has transferred the ownership of zcash trademark to the Zcash Foundation “at no cost.” Announcing the news on Thursday, ECC said the decision has been taken after “months of negotiations” and it will help with further decentralization of zcash. ECC and the Zcash Foundation executed […]

“Big Four” professional services giant Deloitte has added privacy-enhancing technology to its enterprise blockchain solution “EduScrypt,” which helps organizations track, share and validate qualifications of staff.  Deloitte has partnered with Israeli tech startup QEDIT for the effort, according to a press release shared with The Block on Tuesday. QEDIT leverages zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) cryptography to […]