Blockchain and crypto startup Nym is unveiling a new incentive program for those that engage in bitcoin transactions while running the company’s nodes.
Nym Is Looking to Empower Internet Users
The main goal of Nym appears to be privacy. The company has designed software that works to hide metadata and prevent tracking at a network level. As it turns out, whenever we go on the internet, we are potentially in danger of having our identities or other private information revealed or stolen. How does this occur? Well, on virtually ever normal internet network, it turns out our traffic can be tracked. Hackers, websites and other entities can potentially figure out who we are and what we’re doing just by looking at our past internet traffic.
The software at Nym works through what’s known as a “mixnet.” The company mixes several bits of data and information together to make the person’s identity obscure. CTO Dave Hrycyszyn explained his company’s operations and abilities in a recent interview:
In a mixnet, all the data packets get shuffled around, and then they’re emitted in a different order than [how] they came in, with a small delay. Basically, a mixnet acts like a game of Yahtzee, where the dice are data packs. They get shaken around on the mixnet and come out in an entirely different manner than they went in.
The data is mixed up multiple times. This ultimately makes it nearly impossible for cyberthieves or online attackers to pinpoint a specific person. They cannot see who is communicating with each other, and they cannot monitor excessive traffic.
The software is now going through a test phase in which all who take part will be paid in bitcoin units for their time and service. The company has already stated that it feels bitcoin is the best reward in that execs do not want to force users to select a specific kind of wallet to accept the money. In addition, the company is also launching an entirely separate initiative to regularly test the strength of the software and its supporting blockchain.
CEO Harry Halpin explained:
Nym is plug-and-play replacement for Tor for any wallet that supports SOCKS5 or any application that supports SOCKS5. What Nym does is, just like Tor, start a SOKS5 client up on your local machine. You send all your traffic from the app there. It transforms it into Sphinx packets (the same format Lightning uses but invented for mixnets) and sends the traffic through the Nym mixnet.
A Step Forward in the World of Privacy
Adam Back – CEO of Block Stream – commented that Nym is likely to improve upon Tor and will offer users higher levels of privacy. He states:
Network privacy is a crucial component to ensuring the financial privacy of bitcoin users, so we were very happy to collaborate with Nym on its integration with Liquid.
