Supporting NYM as a Validator
Originally published on March 23, 2022.
Why should we support NYM?
The current lack of internet privacy exposes billions to mass surveillance and data breaches, eroding trust in digital services and stifling innovation. The absence of strong encryption bans in the 1990s allowed for the development of essential services like PayPal, Amazon, and eBay, which rely on secure end-to-end encryption for financial transactions. Today, privacy is again compromised by data collection and centralized monopolies, hindering innovation. However, there is hope as public discontent with mass surveillance grows, and Bitcoin offers new possibilities for creating incentive mechanisms to support cooperative and self-sustaining networks.
Motivated by this, Nym introduces groundbreaking standards and open-source libraries for privacy, enabling previously unimaginable applications and markets. Nym is a decentralized and incentivized network aimed at safeguarding user privacy, even against powerful entities like corporations and government actors capable of monitoring global internet traffic. The Nym network offers a scalable privacy infrastructure, supporting third-party applications and services in providing private access features to their users.
Today, there is a notable deficiency in privacy tools capable of addressing the extent of private information exposure. Privacy should be viewed as an all-encompassing concept because a breach in one layer of a system can compromise the privacy offered by even the most advanced cryptographic protocols in another layer. Consider blockchains, where the “Layer 0” peer-to-peer broadcast, a frequently overlooked component, exposes IP addresses, timing, and other network metadata that can de-anonymize transactions, even when a blockchain employs on-chain zero-knowledge proofs. This fundamental issue extends beyond cryptocurrencies, impacting all internet users.
Nym functions as an overlay network that facilitates private access features for applications and their users. This network comprises a decentralized mixnet (consisting of mix nodes) and an anonymous credential cryptosystem. The mixnet routes network traffic in a manner that conceals its traceability, even from potent global adversaries with the ability to monitor the entire internet. In contrast to VPNs or Tor, which primarily safeguard against less powerful adversaries limited to a few network locations, Nym provides a higher level of anonymity.
Anonymous credentials enable users to demonstrate their “right of use” when accessing services privately over the mixnet while preserving their unlinkability. The Nym network’s operations, including mixnet membership, configuration, credential issuance, and reward distribution, are decentralized through a blockchain maintained by validators. The NYM token rewards nodes that provide high-quality service using a unique proof-of-work mechanism called “proof of mixing,” which validates a mix node’s effective traffic routing. NYM tokens are used for transaction fees within the Nym network, granting access to its services.
Nym’s combination of a mixnet and anonymous credentials delivers comprehensive private access capabilities that can be flexibly integrated into various services. Moreover, Nym’s privacy features extend beyond blockchain networks and can benefit any networked application, from secure messaging to file sharing. Nym’s ability to support a wide array of applications allows it to merge diverse user bases into a vast anonymity set, a crucial aspect in privacy systems, as anonymity thrives in larger user groups. Therefore, Nym, by offering a generic infrastructure shared by multiple applications, provides stronger privacy assurances than a standalone network dedicated to a single blockchain or privacy-focused application. Additionally, mixnets can scale horizontally by accommodating a growing user base and increased demand through the addition of more nodes, leading to lower mixing latency and reduced cover traffic while maintaining high levels of anonymity. This dynamic results in a positive correlation between privacy and scalability: as more users join the network, the privacy and performance benefits improve for all users.
Digital privacy for all humanity
Our objective is to position the Nym mixnet as a key player in the future of internet privacy, particularly in domains where message-based routing is gaining prominence, from instant messaging to cryptocurrency transactions. Nym’s focus is on upgrading the internet while maintaining its core engineering principles, encouraging developers to create the next generation of privacy-enhanced applications using Nym’s technology. Although this may seem ambitious, similar overlays like TLS successfully spread encryption across the internet, beginning with one application and expanding as more applications sought improved privacy. Nym’s widespread adoption is expected to commence with applications that demand a high level of privacy, such as cryptocurrency, and then expand to encompass more general applications like secure messaging and decentralized VPNs.
Despite being more specific than its competitors, the design outlined here is not yet complete. There is ongoing work to be done as we continue building the Nym network, including a comprehensive analysis of each component.
In the face of intertwined economic and ecological crises, the internet stands at a critical juncture, with the destiny of humanity at stake. Currently, the internet allows for pervasive surveillance, which could potentially lead to unprecedented forms of tyranny. Simultaneously, the internet’s capacity for communication and coordination offers humanity’s best chance for global-scale progress. Whether the internet’s core protocols prioritize privacy will determine whether our future is marked by servitude or liberation. Ordinary people worldwide, from Syria to Europe, are already facing life-or-death consequences based on their software choices. While privacy might appear as a luxury, it can significantly impact freedom of the press and popular resistance to totalitarian power. With the internet’s potential reinforced by decentralized networks like Nym, freedom stands a fighting chance.
Provalidator will continue support on NYM, please stay tuned for more of our announcements. Thank you!
About Provalidator
Provalidator is a professional Proof-of-Stake blockchain validator and decentralized infrastructure provider. We offer enterprise-level validation services to more than 30+ blockchain networks, safeguarding over $250 million (as of December 2022) in digital assets through our robust infrastructure. Our team has been operating validator nodes since 2018 starting with the Cosmos Hub, and is currently one of the most prominent validators in the Cosmos ecosystem.
At the heart of our operations is validator service, which are specialized servers or nodes in a blockchain network tasked with proposing, authenticating transactions, and incorporating new blocks into the blockchain. Our dedicated team is on standby around the clock, ensuring swift responses to any validator node concerns. We’ve implemented multi-layered security and monitoring systems to safeguard our infrastructure and prioritize interests of our delegators.
Our mission is to support blockchain infrastructure.
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