Nym Technologies SA has officially joined the 65-member-strong Liquid Federation in their latest initiative to support the growing Bitcoin layer-2 ecosystem. The company is now also one of 15 globally distributed functionary operators for the Liquid Network, one of Bitcoin’s first and most popular sidechains.
Liquid functionaries are specialized tamper-proof HSM servers that operate the core infrastructure of Liquid, facilitating thousands of transactions daily. More specifically, these functionaries propose and sign blocks, manage the two-way Bitcoin peg, and secure the bitcoin held by the network in the federation’s multi-sig wallet in a globally distributed decentralized way.
Nym Technologies SA is running the functionary on its dedicated infrastructure in Switzerland, deepening their support for Bitcoin’s layer-2 protocols, which will help scale Bitcoin to meet global demand. This is the first step in a deeper partnership between Nym, the Liquid Federation, and Liquid’s technical provider, Blockstream. The next step will be an integration of Liquid on the Nym mixnet extending Liquid’s default confidentiality to also protect the patterns of transactions in transit. This will enable strong network level privacy to a growing number of Bitcoin users who are using layer-2 protocols to stack sats to save on fees and for greater confidentiality.
I am pleased to announce Nym as a new functionary within the Liquid Federation," said Dr. Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Blockstream. "Liquid's Confidential Transactions, which rely on homomorphic encryption, are designed to keep transaction details confidential while protecting the network's integrity and security. Nym's decision to become a Liquid functionary underscores our shared commitment to enhancing privacy within the Bitcoin L2 ecosystem.
Mixnets and Bitcoin have an intertwined and shared history that goes back to the 1990s. It was while running a cypherpunk mixnet-based anonymous email re-mailer that Adam Back found there was a problem: People could use mixnets to send anonymous spam. Rather than use a whitelist that would require identifying users (which no cypherpunk would want), Adam Back coded up the research of Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor on proof-of-work, which used the cost of hashing to prevent the sending of spam e-mail through the mixnet. This led to the development of an early version of the scheme, called Hashcash, which would eventually become the consensus protocol of Bitcoin and spark the entire blockchain industry. With the advent of Bitcoin, one half of the cypherpunk dream was being realized: digital cash. The second half, however, is still being built: mixnets for full network privacy. Combined, the two technologies can finally secure the fundamental rights of freedom and privacy on the internet.
Nym mixnet is a decentralized and incentivized overlay network for the anonymity and privacy of all users. It is designed to be integrated with any wallet or app. Like Bitcoin’s blockchain, it is made possible by the work of its community. Bitcoin’s ledgers are authenticated through miners who receive block rewards for their work, similarly Nym mixnet relies on a global network of unlinkable node operators to route, mix and anonymize user traffic.
Harry Halpin, the CEO and co-founder of Nym Technologies said, “The very idea of Nym came to me in 2017 when I asked Adam Back how we could make Bitcoin better, and Adam told me that while Bitcoin was more-or-less perfect, the idea of using spare computing power for privacy hadn’t been explored. At that moment, I thought that mixing packets could work like mining Bitcoin. Years of coding later, I’m thrilled to see Nym work even closer with Liquid and Blockstream.”
Nym’s joining the Liquid Federation as a functionary has been formalized just in time for the Bitcoin halving, scheduled for blockheight 840,000 and set to take place mid-April. This will be the fourth halving since 2012, and an important indicator of the future success of the decentralized blockchain and currency. By joining the Liquid Foundation, Nym Technologies SA is signaling support for Bitcoin privacy and that the future of online privacy depends on the feasibility of decentralized networks.
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About Nym Technologies:
Nym Technologies is a leading Web3 privacy infrastructure provider dedicated to developing innovative solutions that empower individuals to reclaim their digital privacy and autonomy. Through its decentralized VPN and mixnet technology, Nym aims to revolutionize the way users interact with the internet by providing secure and anonymous communication channels.
About Liquid:
The Liquid Network is a Bitcoin sidechain and layer-2 solution that enables faster, more confidential bitcoin transactions and issuance of digital assets, such as stablecoins, security tokens, and other financial instruments. The network is operated and managed by a globally distributed federation of more than 65 of the leading enterprises in Bitcoin. To date, Liquid has amassed more than $1.6 billion in network value and remains foundational to Bitcoin's growth and adoption, particularly in the rapidly developing security token market.
