Trust, the cornerstone of any relationship, holds profound significance in our interconnected world. Whether it be interpersonal, inter-corporate, or even between governments, trust is the linchpin upon which successful relationships are built. Partisia Blockchain, in its essence, is a catalyst for redefining trust in the digital realm.
“The art of enabling trust within an inherently untrusting environment.”
But how does Partisia Blockchain achieve this monumental feat?
The importance of trust is a concept we can all readily grasp. Yet, the question arises – what facilitates trust among entities? A critical factor in this equation is privacy. Trust cannot manifest in a realm of complete anonymity. However, it also cannot thrive in a domain of absolute transparency. The sweet spot lies in a harmonious blend of both, where transparency and privacy coexist to cultivate trust.
Consider a simple scenario: applying for a credit card. A bank, to grant you this privilege, requires crucial information about you – your identity, income, contact details, and credit history. These details are essential for the bank to extend its trust in you. However, if you knew that these details would be made public, including your transaction history, your willingness to apply for that credit card would understandably wane.
Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that privacy is the very bedrock upon which trust is constructed.
In our credit card example, you enter a trusted environment where you bestow your trust upon the credit card company to safeguard your personal data. The company is, of course, bound by its business model to keep the sanctity of this trust. However, there is an underlying vulnerability here – data breaches, unauthorized sales, or inadvertent data exposure. These are potential avenues through which your trust can be shattered. In such cases, you are placing trust in the environment.
On the other hand, a trustless environment requires no implicit trust in any single entity but still manages to perform necessary functions seamlessly. Enter the decentralized blockchain, a prime example of an environment where trust in an entity is unnecessary. Here, blocks are formed, and information is inscribed on the ledger without a single entity having dominion over the system. The laws of physics exemplify another trustless environment – they exist without needing trust because the system is transparent, having been measured and documented, and accessible to all for independent confirmation.
Partisia Blockchain ingeniously fuses these concepts to tackle the trust predicament. It enables two entities to work together within a trusted framework, devoid of any single entity’s control. The synergy of multiparty computation (MPC) and blockchain technology underpins this innovation.
MPC, a revolutionary technology, permits the computation of confidential data. It functions as an encryption technology, allowing input values to remain hidden while still computing answers. It empowers us to calculate the sum of 2 and 3 without revealing the original values. Envisaged in the late 1970s and officially introduced in 1988, MPC boasts an illustrious history, with over a thousand research papers and 15 years of practical implementation.
In parallel, blockchain, the other keystone of Partisia Blockchain, has been redefined to its very core. Through our distinctive BYOC tokenomics principles and an infinitely scalable architecture, we make trust in a trustless environment a reality for all – not just for those building on our platform.
By converging these two technologies, Partisia Blockchain democratizes trust within a trustless domain. This manifests as a wealth of opportunities: companies collaborating without exposing their confidential data, creating equitable, private, and accurate voting systems, returning control of data to users, and enabling monetization of data. In the heart of Partisia Blockchain’s mission lies the potential to revolutionize business models and unveil novel value propositions.
At Partisia Blockchain, our journey is guided by over 35 years of relentless dedication to encryption technology. Our Chief Cryptographer, Ivan Damgård, the mastermind behind the Merkle–Damgård Construct, which underpins renowned hash algorithms like MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-2. His groundbreaking work in the 1980s laid the foundation for secure multiparty computation (sMPC), and today, this profound expertise empowers us to champion the most advanced sMPC protocol globally.
Our mission is to redefine the very essence of trust, forging a fresh perspective on how data is employed. To bring this vision to life, we had to excel not only in sMPC but also reimagine the architecture of public blockchains.
Secure multiparty computation is an encryption marvel that permits data computation without revealing the underlying data itself. Imagine a sophisticated dance of algorithms that enables outcomes like auctions, data analysis, voting, surveys, and random number generation without divulging the precious data within.
The blockchain ecosystem grapples with two pressing challenges: interoperability and scalability. From an interoperability standpoint, every blockchain acts as a unique asset class, fueling a competitive zero-sum game mentality. Each Layer 1 blockchain claims supremacy, leading to a winner-takes-all narrative. Furthermore, users are bound to a specific blockchain, having to acquire and use that particular token as an entry ticket, reminiscent of an amusement park experience.
On the scalability front, the single-database nature of blockchains poses hurdles related to both scalability and transaction speed. Overloaded blockchains often suffer from delayed transaction confirmations and a lack of real-time efficiency.
To fulfill our visionary goals, we realized the need for a groundbreaking re-architecture of blockchain technology.
In an environment where blockchain networks resemble amusement parks, we introduce a paradigm shift. Rather than being confined to one park’s rides, our mission is to let anyone access our innovations, irrespective of their token holdings. We have engineered a system that embraces tokens with liquidity, allowing them to serve as transaction payments within our ecosystem. Our BYOC tokenomics foster a vibrant ecosystem where different token types can facilitate transactions, ensuring all users can harness our sMPC technology. Our native MPC token, in turn, bolsters our blockchain’s security, as node operators stake their tokens as collateral, safeguarding our network.
Traditional blockchains grapple with scalability issues, impeding real-time finalization and usability during high traffic. Partisia Blockchain confronts this challenge head-on by adopting a revolutionary approach. We have re-engineered the traditional method, enabling horizontal scaling and boasting a rapid .3-second finalization time in normal conditions. Our network comprises multiple blockchains, each autonomously producing blocks, creating an unparalleled scalability model. Moreover, our unique BFT consensus mechanism ensures “speed of light” finalization. For in-depth insights into this architecture, refer to our yellow paper.
These distinctive attributes empower you to craft pioneering solutions that revolve around trust. We extend an invitation to all those seeking to enhance trust and privacy within their applications. Reach out to us, and let’s explore unique solutions to your challenges. Together, we can reshape the digital landscape and usher in a new era of trust.
In the ever-evolving landscape of regulations, a multitude of rules and safeguards has emerged, from antitrust laws to data protection rights, designed to uphold ethical standards and protect individuals from exploitation in a rapidly changing world. However, the blockchain industry, despite its transformative potential, faces a notable gap in regulatory compliance and ethical conduct, owing to its inherent transparency and anonymity.
Partisia Blockchain emerges as the vanguard of change, offering innovative solutions that bridge this gap and establish a new paradigm of integrity in business.
Illustrating GDPR compliance
One of the most prominent and far-reaching regulations in the realm of data privacy is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR, along with similar laws worldwide, dictates the governance of personal and sensitive data, with a key requirement that such data remains within a specific geographical region. This presents a formidable challenge for traditional blockchains, given their inherent transparency and the global distribution of nodes.
Partisia Blockchain, however, is uniquely attuned to regulatory requirements. We have introduced a pioneering feature known as “jurisdiction management” into our system. This remarkable capability empowers users to designate data that must remain within nodes situated in a specific jurisdiction. By leveraging secure multiparty computation (MPC), developers can selectively privatize data, ensuring compliance with stringent data privacy laws while preserving the integrity of the blockchain.
In the realm of corporate governance and shareholder meetings, stringent rules exist to ensure the fairness and impartiality of votes. Maintaining the confidentiality of individual votes is paramount. However, traditional blockchain voting mechanisms, as seen in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), suffer from complete transparency, making it challenging to protect voter privacy. Existing techniques to privatize votes often stumble due to scalability constraints or the inadvertent revelation of votes after the tally.
Partisia Blockchain introduces a game-changing solution through secure MPC, allowing computation of vote results without disclosing the specifics of individual votes on the blockchain. This innovative approach guarantees an immutable voting record, upholding the highest securities standards while preserving voter anonymity. It is a trustless system that harmonizes blockchain technology with compliance, setting new standards for ethical conduct.
Partisia Blockchain stands as the vanguard of a revolution in the blockchain industry, where privacy and compliance are not just buzzwords, but integral components of the ecosystem. Our solutions transcend the limitations of transparency and anonymity, offering a bridge to ethical and regulatory compliance.
In this rapidly evolving business landscape, where rules and regulations shape the playing field, trust in blockchain technology is not just a vision; it is a reality. Embrace Partisia Blockchain, and unlock the future of ethical, compliant, and privacy-respecting business practices. It is time to redefine the rules and raise the standard of ethical conduct in your organization.
We are pleased to announce that KYC for becoming node operators is now live! As mentioned on our recent AMA, KYC for registering as a node operator has been launched and functioning.
While KYB for registering as a node operator has been live, KYC has been in the works for a while now. After a few hurdles, we are happy to announce that registration for individuals is now available, allowing non business entities to become block producers.
To begin your journey to becoming a node operator, please start here.
If you already have set up your node and just waiting for running through the KYC process, the instructions are here.
During the month of September 2023, I will be traveling to a few conferences, and doing a few speaking engagements. As a part of the conference going, I will be providing a few thoughts on what I have seen, people and projects I have met and the changes and trends emerging in the last year or so in the industry.
From Zug, I traveled south to not only take part in the first large Web3 conference in Milan, but also the privilege to take part in a panel discussion about DAOs. This felt more like a standard Web3 conference with a lot of your usual projects. And the theme was similar, with ZK, DAOs, offramp/onramp and a few DeFi projects. And everyone I spoke with knew or heard about MPC.
The panel was about DAO governance, where we discussed a range of topics including leadership, legal frameworks and of course, the need for privacy. It was enlightening to hear about how DAO’s were maturing. I was honored to be included in quite a list of distinguished panelists, with lawyers, researchers and the BD from MIDAO (Marshall Island DAO).
I also got a chance to meet with one of our projects building on our chain, MetaNames. They are building a naming service on our chain, allowing for the name to support all BYOC assets and not just MPC. With them very close to launching in mainnet, it was the perfect time to discuss next steps.
This wrapped up my conference tours for the month of September. It will be good to get back to my desk and begin exploring the leads we were able to find and also get back to actually getting some work done!
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ZUG, 11 OCTOBER 2023. Partisia Blockchain announces the appointment of Shirly Valge as the Head of External Relations and Partnerships, effective immediately. This strategic hire will strengthen our commitment to cultivating relationships and expanding our partnerships. This appointment underscores the organization’s unwavering dedication to excellence in leadership and top-tier talent acquisition.
Shirly brings a decade of experience in disruptive technologies and business development to her new role, including her recent tenure as Chief Operating Officer and Board Member at Velas Network, where she played a pivotal role in building and expanding the organization.
In her capacity at Partisia Blockchain, Shirly will collaborate with the senior leadership team to provide expert guidance on expanding the partnership network. She will focus on elevating the organization’s visibility and influence within the industry, fostering the growth of strategic alliances. Shirly will play a pivotal role in identifying and cultivating our network of partners.
Kurt Nielsen, President of Partisia Blockchain: “Shirly’s extensive skills and expertise will significantly accelerate Partisia Blockchain’s growth, fortifying our partnerships and collaborations. With Shirly’s invaluable knowledge, we eagerly anticipate broadening and diversifying our network of partners, paving the way for increased adoption of our cutting-edge technology.”
Shirly Valge, Head of External Relations and Partnerships at Partisia Blockchain, at CV Summit 2023 in Zug
Before joining Partisia Blockchain, Shirly held key positions at various organizations, including Unity Investment, Crypto Mining and Brokerage in Switzerland where she drove revenue growth through marketing, investor relations and sales. In addition to her professional achievements, Shirly is dedicated to educating the next generation, having lectured 400 students at the University of Engineering and Management in India on the applications of blockchain, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in the public sector, and on several Web3 courses dedicated to attracting more women into the blockchain industry.
Shirly’s distinguished credentials reflect her commitment to the industry, with her Forbes 30 under 30 nomination in 2021 and numerous keynote addresses at major industry events. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree in International Business and Marketing from the Tallinn University of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Tallinn University (Estonia). Shirly actively contributes to the community by volunteering at Kickstart Accelerator, where she supports start-ups and mentors international students. She is a native of Estonia, the leading country for blockchain adoption and MPC for public sector use, and has firsthand experience using the advantages of the DLT and MPC.
Partisia Blockchain is privileged to welcome Shirly Valge as the Head of External Relations and Partnerships and looks forward to her contributions to growth and success. Her appointment represents a significant milestone in our journey towards achieving ambitious goals and maintaining our position as a leader in the blockchain industry.
About Partisia Blockchain: Partisia Blockchain brings unparalleled opportunities by empowering privacy-preserving, interoperable and sustainable innovation for fairness and transparency. It fuels the most secure and efficient networks to solve global problems. Distilled with 35 years of rigorous research, Partisia Blockchain future-proofs solutions, solves tomorrow’s challenges by powering fair, secure, distribution of benefits. While preserving privacy and confidentiality, it brings accountable, transparent and decentralized governance. Learn more: www.PartisiaBlockchain.com
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During the month of September, I will be traveling to a few conferences, and doing a few speaking engagements. As a part of the conference going, I will be providing a few thoughts on what I have seen, people and projects I have met and the changes and trends emerging in the last year or so in the industry.
It felt like we are finally beginning to see a migration from an asset driven ecosystem to companies actually looking to solve for real world problems.
CV Summit, held in Zug, Switzerland, was a completely different experience than Korea Blockchain Week and Token2049. While it was smaller, and only lasted two days, it was quite a networking experience with many established organizations taking part. KBW and Token2049 was full of entrepreneurs and startups, but many of the people I met were representing companies that had been in the industry for a long time, or was a Web2 company looking to expand into Web3. Certainly not the Web3 atmosphere as the others I have attended. I think this is partly due to the maturity of the industry.
As we are a partner of CV Labs, we were able to secure a booth and many of my colleagues also attended. It was great to see the gang get together for this one and work as a team.
It was an amazing experience being able to connect with potential leads, from supply chain, DAOs, and property deeds management using NFT companies being the notable companies. It felt like we are finally beginning to see a migration from an asset driven ecosystem to companies actually looking to solve for real world problems.
I also got a chance to network and meet with a variety of projects with whom I hope we can enter into some kind of a partnership. We have begun reaching out to them and will report back with updates soon.
In September 2023, Partisia Blockchain made history with the launch of our revolutionary MetaMask integration, MetaMask Snaps, unlocking endless possibilities for over 100 million users. Alongside this milestone, we are excited to announce the onboarding of USDT and MATIC to our BYOC framework. In the community, Tiago Serôdio’s contributions to CoinTelegraph have been invaluable, and we have enhanced our Hivemind Huddles for a better experience. Our journey through Korea Blockchain Week and Token2049 in Singapore brought promising leads and partnership opportunities, while our Co-Founder Brian Gallagher delivered a compelling speech at IoTex’s side event. Stay tuned for more tech highlights from the team and further groundbreaking developments!
Last September marked a pivotal moment for Partisia Blockchain as we proudly introduced our MetaMask integration, MetaMask Snaps, ushering in a new era of possibilities for over 100 million users. This game-changing integration offers seamless transaction signing and paves the way for innovative cross-blockchain solutions, such as BYOC and MPC-as-a-service. Developers can now directly connect with their users, while millions can access our innovations securely. We are extremely excited about the potential this integration unlocks, so be sure to stay tuned for more developments.
For our ongoing work with the BYOC framework and onboarding additional tokens into our ecosystem, the Foundation will propose both USDT and MATIC as the first two tokens to get onboarded to the Hermes bridge through the BYOC framework. As a part of the onboarding, we will also create detailed instructions on how you as the community can also create proposals to onboard new tokens you wish to see on Partisia Blockchain.
Tiago Serôdio, Head of Community, made significant contributions in September. He published a noteworthy article on CoinTelegraph and contributed three expert panel commentaries, one of which highlighted MPC as a DID option for Proof-of-Humanity. In his writings, Tiago delved into blockchain explorers, the impact of CBDCs in the crypto space, and the promising potential of #MPC in self-sovereign identity, all featured in CoinTelegraph.
Responding to valuable feedback from our community members, we have reimagined our Hivemind Huddle experience. To make it more accessible and engaging, we have moved all Hivemind Huddles to Parti.com. On 22 September 2023, we hosted our first one on the platform. We delved into the world of MetaMask Snaps and their significance. Bruce Ahn, our Head of Developer Relations, shared his experiences and insights from Korea Blockchain Week, Token 2049, and more.
During our week of events at Korea Blockchain Week, we immersed ourselves in various activities, attending multiple side events, engaging in speaking opportunities (thanks to H.E.R. DAO), and collaborating with our Korean Ambassadors. Together, we championed the cause of privacy-driven innovation using Partisia Blockchain. Notably, we observed the absence of Layer 1 (L1) blockchains, indicative of the current market. On the bright side, there was a sizable increase in zero knowledge events, signaling a shift in the industry. These developments highlighted the growing recognition of interoperability in the blockchain space. The event also resulted in promising leads and partnership opportunities, especially in areas such as DID/SSI solutions, gaming, and ZKP technology.
Our Token2049 visit offered an exciting glimpse into a city state known for its unique mix of cultures. The event-packed week showcased Singapore’s vibrant blockchain landscape with daily highlights. At Eth Singapore, we explored potential collaborations with various projects and discussed future prospects. Decompute, a dedicated MPC conference, demonstrated the growing emphasis on privacy solutions in blockchain, with mentions of Partisia Blockchain’s preprocessing method. We were proud sponsors of IoTex’s side event, where our Co-Founder Brian Gallagher delivered a compelling speech, presenting our interoperability model. We also took the opportunity to tease our future announcements. Token2049’s bustling main conference floor revealed a thriving blockchain space, with themes centered on ZKP, interoperability, NFTs, and service providers. This event generated a wealth of promising leads that we are eager to follow up on in the coming months.
We have continued to see a large number of leads come in for the month of September, largely due to our participation in KBW and Token2049. While the lead numbers will fluctuate month by month, we feel this will continue with our additional participation in going to conferences in the future.
In total, 1,690,626.9629 MPC tokens will be paid out in rewards, almost 500,000 MPC more than the previous quarter. This is our largest quarterly distribution to date.
We are thrilled to announce our participation and sponsorship in this year’s CV Summit, taking place in the picturesque Swiss town of Zug on 3–4 October 2023. This event is a premier gathering for blockchain and crypto enthusiasts, and we wouldn’t want you to miss out on the action! At CV Summit, we are not just attending; we are taking center stage to showcase our groundbreaking Partisia Blockchain technology. This is your chance to witness firsthand how our innovative blockchain solutions are shaping the future of the industry. But that’s not all. We are also using this incredible platform to connect with potential partners, strengthen relationships with existing ones, and exchange insights with thought leaders in the field. It is an opportunity to be part of the conversation that is shaping the blockchain landscape. So, mark your calendars for 3–4 October 2023, and make your way to Zug to join us at CV Summit. Come meet Hinrich Pfeifer, Bakyt Azimkanov, Tiago Serôdio and Bruce Ahn at the event. Let’s forge new connections, explore fresh opportunities, and together, make the blockchain world a better place.
We have been working with a hackathon vendor to begin our second hackathon later this year. This will be an online hackathon, partnering with a large hackathon vendor to help increase both visibility to the project as well as onboard additional developers into our community. We are excited about having a few projects coming into mainnet very soon. We expect to see at least two apps going live in October. We will be announcing them soon with guides on how you can get engaged.
Looking ahead, we have some exciting events lined up for the community. In October, we will host our Q3 Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session with the Founders. We will share significant updates on our ongoing developments. Additionally, keep an eye out for an upcoming AMA featuring the first dApp set to deploy on our mainnet.
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In all blockchains, node operators are running their nodes to operate and secure the network. And the compensation model of the blockchain allows node operators to get compensated for maintaining/operating the protocol. On Partisia Blockchain the compensation is a mix of BYOC fees and rewards in MPC tokens. Rewards come from the ecosystem pool used to bootstrap the operation of the network.
Currently the distribution of rewards is the same for staking directly by a node operator account as for any other account that delegates staking to a node operator. On the other hand, node operators receive all BYOC fees. However, at this early stage of the network the main compensation as node operator is the rewards. Hence, to make the total compensation more fair to the node operators operating the network the following adjustment will be put up for voting among node operators: 2% of the rewards gained by delegated staking to be distributed to the node operators that they are staking to. This will allow a fairer staking rewards system where the node operators running the system will be compensated by the community stakers for providing the computing power to stake their tokens to and receive rewards.
A simple example for a community staker would be if the reward for your current period was 100 MPC tokens, during the rewards computation, 2 MPC tokens will be sent to the node you are staking to, and you will receive 98 MPC tokens. This will fairly compensate the node operator for operating the blockchain you are staking to receive your reward.
If you are a node operator, you will receive 2% of all the staking reward your node account generated for all the community stakers you are supporting.
As this is a governance matter for the chain, the proposal will be put to a vote for the block producing node operators to decide on. We suggest for those who are staking, that you reach out to your respective node operators and voice your thoughts with them directly. If passed, this will be implemented as a part of the Q6 reward cycle and subsequent cycles going forward.
We hope this will help create a more fair rewards distribution as well as promote node operators to continue to promote their nodes to the community to stake to.
Thank you for your continued support!
ZUG, 18 SEPTEMBER 2023. Partisia Blockchain is proud to announce the launch of a pioneering integration with MetaMask, the leading self-custody Web3 platform developed by Consensys, opening untapped opportunities for more than 100 million users. With the introduction of MetaMask Snaps, a transformative enhancement for users, we are poised to revolutionize the world of decentralized applications.
Snaps opens a new realm of possibilities for Partisia Blockchain users by leveraging MetaMask’s trusted functionality. The initial Snap integration brings MetaMask signing to Partisia Blockchain users, and opens up an array of innovative programmable features and functionalities within their wallets. After a meticulous selection process, Partisia Blockchain was selected by MetaMask based on the Snaps integration work done by our developer team. The Snaps is set to elevate the user experience, focusing on transaction insights, interoperability with non-EVM blockchains, and notifications, offering users unprecedented control and customization.
In 2022, MetaMask surpassed 100 million users. The launch of Partisia Blockchain Snaps marks a significant milestone as millions of MetaMask users can tap onto our innovation. Each Snap selected by Consensys has undergone rigorous security audits and has been thoughtfully integrated into MetaMask’s allowlist, ensuring a secure and seamless experience for users.
Kurt Nielsen, President of the Partisia Blockchain Foundation, says: “The major driver behind the Partisia Blockchain project is the disruption of data as we know it. With the MPC-as-a-Service built directly into the Partisia Blockchain, any service on the internet can build the next generation of privacy-preserving advertisement, searching or matching services without touching the users’ data. This is a tremendous opportunity, and a large part of the motivation for building the Partisia Blockchain in the first place. While the Partisia Blockchain network is ready, we need to bring in the users of the internet and activate the users’ private data. This is the next major step and why the integration with MetaMask is a major step forward.”
The benefit of the first Snaps iteration is the ease of using MetaMask for transaction signing. It will enable users, which also use other blockchains, to employ a single trusted wallet across chains and remove friction. The ease of cross-blockchain solutions — such as bring your own coin (BYOC) and MPC-as-a-service — will be significantly more user-friendly. In the future, the Partisia Blockchain MetaMask Snap will offer more features helping users secure their confidential personal data by employing MPC technology.
The Partisia MetaMask Snaps will enable developers building on Partisia Blockchain to integrate MetaMask as the signing solution into their own dApps and establish a direct connection with their users. In the long run, users will reap the benefits of the convenience and versatility offered by Partisia Blockchain Snaps, tailored to various use cases and compatible with multiple protocols.
Kurt Nielsen continues: “The Snaps that come with MetaMask allow us to build security solutions that safely and privately bring the more than 100 million users’ data into Partisia Blockchain and the next iteration of the internet — an evolution where technology returns control and privacy to the users of the internet.”
Christian Montoya, Product Lead for MetaMask Snaps, emphasizes the importance of permissionless innovation within a decentralized system: “We believe that permissionless innovation is a cornerstone of a decentralized system — no gatekeepers. Innovation thrives at the pace of the network, not just within an individual development team at Consensys.”
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About Partisia Blockchain: Partisia Blockchain brings unparalleled opportunities by empowering privacy-preserving, interoperable and sustainable innovation for fairness and transparency. It fuels the most secure and efficient networks to solve global problems. Distilled with 35 years of rigorous research, Partisia Blockchain future-proofs solutions, solves tomorrow’s challenges by powering fair, secure, distribution of benefits. While preserving privacy and confidentiality, it brings accountable, transparent and decentralized governance. Learn more: www.PartisiaBlockchain.com
About Consensys: Consensys is the leading blockchain and Web3 software company. Since 2014, Consensys has been at the forefront of innovation, pioneering technological developments within the Web3 ecosystem. Through our product suite, we have become the trusted collaborator for users, creators, and developers on their path to build and belong in the world they want to see. Whether building a dApp, an NFT collection, a portfolio, or a better future, the instinct to build is universal. Consensys inspires and champions the builder instinct in everyone by making web3 universally easy to use and develop on. To explore our products and solutions, visit https://consensys.io
During the month of September 2023, I will be traveling to a few conferences, and doing a few speaking engagements. As a part of the conference going, I will be providing a few thoughts on what I have seen, people and projects I have met and the changes and trends emerging in the last year or so in the industry.
My first time in Singapore! The second week of my event experience was at Token2049 in Singapore where I got my first taste of a city I heard so much about but never experienced. I expected it to be a very high end place with expensive cars and high rises. To my surprise it was more like a mix between Hong Kong and Miami. A very laid back Hong Kong maybe? Either way it is an amazing place and I am wishing I could stay a bit longer
The week was far more busy than Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) where there was a significant event every day.
Monday: Eth Singapore — The event was co-hosted by AngelHack who is a good friend of ours. Ryan, the CEO, helped us feel at home and we discussed our potential future collaboration. It was once again devoid of L1 but I did see quite a number of cloud computing providers selling their services. From Google to Huawei, more and more cloud service providers were looking to help build nodes on blockchains.
Tuesday: Decompute (MPC conference) — On Tuesday, I visited a specifically MPC based conference called Decompute. Yes, an actual MPC dedicated conference in a blockchain week. It was amazing to see a ton of MPC focused blockchains coming up and to me it showed the continued emergence of privacy solutions in blockchains. From Nillion to Aptos to other various smaller names, a lot of folks were working on MPC solutions. In fact, during the Q&A session with Aptos, someone raised a question asking “how does this compare to Partisia Blockchain’s preprocessing method?” 0_o Wow, someone who actually has heard of us! I made sure I got his contact and will be following up with him in the future.
Wednesday: IoTex side event (where we were one of the sponsors) —Wednesday was the big event for us where we had Brian Gallagher, one of our Co-Founders, speak in a large side event held by IoTex (one of our future integration partners) and we presented our interoperability model. We also showcased our new banners which we think are much cleaner than our old ones. While I grayed out the new logo here on these pictures, we will be revealing this soon. With Vinny Leow and Markus Spillmann with us, we made sure our presence was felt!
Thursday: Token2049 —Thursday was the visit to the main conference. And there was a huge difference between KBW and Token2049. It was two full floors filled with booths to the brim. There was absolutely no way you could visit them all and all I got was just a very small sample of the different projects that were on display there. It certainly did not feel like a bear market at all.
With that said, like in KBW, the main theme was in ZKP, interoperability, NFT and a lot of service providers.
I met up with a ton of potential leads, which we will combine with the KBW and beginning next week, we will begin following up on them.
My next stop will be in Zug to attend the CV Summit with a larger Partisia Blockchain team in early October and then off to Milan for a speaking engagement at EthMilan. If you are around the area, please let me know.
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During the month of September and early October 2023, I will be traveling to a few conferences, and doing a few speaking engagements. As a part of the travel, I wanted to provide a few thoughts on what I have seen, people and projects I have met and the changes and trends emerging in the last year or so in the industry.
Even just a year ago, zero knowledge proof was barely a topic of conversation. Now, almost everyone had some level of understanding of what MPC was.
My first week of events was in South Korea, my birthplace, and I spent the week going to multiple side events, did a quick speaking engagement (thank you H.E.R. DAO for the opportunity) and met with a variety of builders, projects and community builders.
I also got a chance to meet with two of our Korean Ambassadors, which was an amazing opportunity. We teamed up for three days going around different side events promoting building for privacy using Partisia Blockchain.
My first thought was with the amount of missing L1 blockchains in the industry that was present. It clearly still is a bear market and as a result, L1’s were visibility absent. One person I spoke with, when I mentioned I was from an L1, said “oh no, not another L1!” And I think that reaction makes sense. As mentioned on our interoperability article, L1s are all playing a zero sum game. Everyone is in competition with each other and the industry is trying to mature into more of an interoperable environment. To me it was a good sign not only for the blockchain industry but also for Partisia Blockchain, as people were beginning to understand the importance of interoperability in any industry.
My second thought was the amount of zero knowledge events that were out there. One out of every two to three events was either focused on ZK or had zero knowledge as a topic. Even just a year ago, zero knowledge proof was barely a topic of conversation. Now, almost everyone had some level of understanding of what MPC was. This was an amazing shift in the industry and I will keep you all updated to see if this trend continues.
Just on a side note, even the ZKP experts were conceding that ZKP has limitations in scaling and long computation times. My thought is that as the industry continues to mature, many people will begin to turn to MPC as a potential solution unless ZKP scaling issues can be resolved.
Overall, I met up with quite a number of potential leads and partnership opportunities. Quite a lot of leads to follow up, interesting use cases to delve deeper into and more opportunities to come from what I thought was a very successful event. A lot of the builders were focused on DID/SSI solutions, as well as gaming and ZKP technology.
More to come next week on our presence in Token 2049 where we will have a booth and a speaking engagement at the R3al World @ Token2049: Interoperability, Web3’s Disruption Point conference. If you are in the area, come say hello!
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In this category you can explore how to create your own smart contract. The specifications behind smart contracts. How to compile and deploy smart contracts on the testnet and mainnet and what zero knowledge smart contracts are. If you are in need of help when developing smart contracts, we recommend you visit our support page or join the active community
Nodes are the computers in the blockchain network. They perform services for the users of the blockchain, first and foremost they facilitate the transactions that happens on the blockchain. From the transaction costs paid by users, the node operator can make revenue. PBC has four types of nodes:
If you want to be a node operator you are required to have a stake in the network. A stake is basically a deposit strengthening the security and user confidence of the network. The stake means that the node operator has something to lose should they try to cheat or damage the network. Staking requires that the node operator buys the required stake of MPC tokens. Services have a hierarchy of cost and security as well as payment. Therefore, higher paid services require a higher stake. To acquire MPC tokens go through this contact page.
The current stake requirements are:
The machine
In addition to the stake you need a computer to run the node. Most node operators rent a server, but some keep the machine running the node in their own home. Machine requirements are detailed in the Recommended hardware and software section.
The keys
When a block of transactions is validated, the node signs off on it with a unique digital signature. The signature is created with the node owner’s private key. The signature is verifiable from the public version of the signing key. The different keys play different roles. One keypair references your account with the stake, another refers to your identity on the network and in the PBC internal register. A full description of the keys you will need can be found in this section.
The skills
Setting up the node requires some technical skills. You need to be able to configure and run your node, or alternatively pay someone you trust to help you with the setup and upkeep of the node.
Onboarding
If you want to run a node, please join our community. We would like to offer you the best possible support and be able to notify you in case we or community members register a problem with your node. We also send you news of relevant updates for example when node operators can support deposit or withdrawal of a new coin on the chain (oracle service). Node operators will also be alerted to upcoming votes on vital updates.
The following guide has 10 parts. If you do the steps of the guide in order, you should know how to set up your node correctly, before you commit your stake. In other words, you can find out if you have the skills and patience for running a block producing node, before you tie your stake to the performance of the node.
As explained in our BYOC documentation, Partisia Blockchain (PBC) has a multi-chain solution where gas for transaction in PBC is paid using external coins. To help developers add additional tokens into the chain, we have a framework that allows anyone who meets the requirements to add other tokens as a bridgeable asset and include them into the payment system. This document’s aim is to provide instructions on how you can add other tokens into the Partisia Blockchain ecosystem.
Currently the framework supports any tokens that run under Ethereum, Polygon or BNB chain. As other L1 chains get added, other tokens will become available under the BYOC Framework.
In the coming weeks we will provide additional guides and videos to walk you through the process, for both the node operators and the proposer. We hope this article will help you begin to consider what tokens you would like to onboard as payment.
August has been a busy month of success! Let’s dive into this month’s Partisia Blockchain update, exploring various industries to showcase the flexibility and transformative potential of blockchain and multiparty computation (MPC). From revolutionizing government processes with transparency and security to redefining data-sharing in marketing and advertising, while prioritizing privacy, our solutions continue to drive innovation.
The healthcare sector witnesses privacy-preserved collaboration and supply chain efficiency, while logistics embraces streamlined supply chain management through blockchain and MPC integration. In the community sphere, we have explored Self-Sovereign Identity’s (SSI) elevated privacy with MPC and tackled GDPR compliance through anonymization. The spotlight on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) broadened our understanding of blockchain possibilities. We hosted an insightful MPC Advantages Q&A session, and our dynamic community engaged in a Web3 marketing discussion — Hivemind Huddles.
Technical advancements include operational smart contracts for DID and verifiable credentials, BYOC framework deployment, and browser updates. As we power ahead, we eagerly anticipate unveiling the BYOC framework in more detail and introducing even more streamlined management features. Stay updated with another month of innovation and progress!
In this month’s recap, we have explored our Industry Spotlight and how Partisia Blockchain’s solutions benefit diverse sectors, including Government, Marketing and Advertising, Healthcare and Logistics. Our journey through these industries showcases the versatile applications of blockchain and Multiparty Computation (MPC), each tailored to address specific challenges while upholding privacy, security and efficiency.
Within the domain of government, Partisia Blockchain envisions transformative solutions that embrace the principles of transparency, security and efficiency. By harnessing the power of blockchain and multiparty computation (MPC), bureaucratic processes can be streamlined while maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information. Initiatives, such as DelNorte and E-Trusty, exemplify how blockchain can enhance trust in public institutions, create transparency in public tenders, and uphold privacy in CBDCs and blockchain-based voting systems.
In the dynamic landscape of marketing and advertising, Partisia Blockchain revolutionizes data-sharing models. With our privacy-first approach and secure MPC technology, users gain ownership and control over their data. The combination of blockchain and MPC empowers data analytics companies to compute on encrypted data without compromising its privacy, rewarding users for data contribution, ensuring real-time data access, and maintaining transparency. Partisia Blockchain bridges the gap between consumer privacy concerns and data-driven marketing strategies.
In the domain of healthcare, Partisia Blockchain leads the charge in preserving privacy while fostering collaboration and innovation. Our MPC technology introduces secure data analysis without exposing raw information. In the realm of DNA sequencing, Partisia Blockchain ensures the security of genetic data. In clinical research, MPC empowers cross-institutional studies while safeguarding patient privacy. Supply chain management witnesses a transformation, enabling stakeholders to manage complex supply networks without revealing proprietary information. In clinical trial recruitment, MPC facilitates efficient participant matching while upholding data security and privacy. Partisia Blockchain redefines healthcare through the lens of privacy, security, and collaboration.
Lastly, we explored the impact of our solution on the logistics industry, envisioning a streamlined future where blockchain and multiparty computation (MPC) converge to enhance supply chain management. By integrating QR codes with tokenized product representations, we facilitated instant information access and reduced confusion. Blockchain’s transparent touchpoints improved logistics and supply chain transparency, while smart contracts automated processes and adapted to evolving documentation requirements. In the realm of quality assurance, we harnessed MPC and blockchain to digitize supply chains, ensuring privacy preservation and selective data access. Our solutions streamline documentation, upheld compliance with GxP regulations, and heighten efficiency throughout the supply chain, ultimately paving the way for a resilient and transparent industry transformation.
In this month’s community update, we highlighted the transformative impact of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and Digital ID solutions within today’s dynamic data landscape. Partisia Blockchain’s MPC technology introduces an innovative dimension to SSI, elevating privacy levels and unveiling novel business models. Crucial to the foundation of digital identity, Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials empowered users with data control capabilities. Expanding the horizons of SSI, multiparty computation (MPC) enabled confidential data analytics and versatile multi-functional applications.
Additionally, Partisia Blockchain discovered its vital role in facilitating GDPR compliance through the strategic application of multiparty computation (MPC) technology. The utilization of MPC ensured the anonymization of personal data, allowing for uninterrupted data collection while maintaining privacy. This decentralized MPC approach elevates data security and control, in alignment with the access and erasure rights mandated by GDPR. Additionally, our groundbreaking jurisdiction management v1.0 provides an innovative solution for geographically aligned data processing, effectively safeguarding data rights and privacy. As the significance of data privacy continues to grow, Partisia Blockchain remains at the forefront, pioneering technological solutions that enhance privacy, security, and adherence to regulatory standards.
Continuing our exploration of innovative developments, this month, we delved into Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and their impact on the blockchain landscape. At the core of any blockchain lies the concept of consensus without reliance on a central authority. Programmable blockchains have opened the door to a realm of possibilities, with applications categorized into three types: public input-public output, private input-public output, and private input-private output.
To provide a better understanding of the topic, we held a special MPC Advantages Q&A session, featuring Partisia Blockchain’s Principal Architect Emil Orloff, Cryptographic Scientist Anders Dalskov, and Head of Developer Relations Bruce Ahn. This insightful session delved into what MPC is, and how we differ from other privacy and MPC-based blockchains. To learn more about this topic and where Partisia Blockchain fits in, check out our blog post and comparison chart here.
On 10 August 2023, our vibrant community came together once again for an engaging Hivemind Huddle. This interactive session delved into the realm of Web3 marketing, exploring both the broader landscape and Partisia Blockchain’s unique strategies. Our conversation spanned across past successes like PR efforts, conferences, and media coverage, while also delving into intriguing future prospects (without divulging specifics). It was a great conversation where the community contributed with great ideas, some of which will be directly implemented through the Ambassador Program.
DelNorte, the latest project integrated into the Partisia Blockchain ecosystem, achieved a significant milestone in the past week. It successfully completed the initial transactions for its inaugural real estate deed pilot project, in collaboration with the El Salvadoran government. Additionally, DelNorte has three more pilot projects in the pipeline, each partnering with different governments. This achievement marks a crucial step forward, with El Salvador’s participation serving as the pioneering proof of concept for these initiatives.
Veric has achieved significant advancements, successfully implementing fully operational smart contracts for DID and verifiable credentials on the testnet. The team is currently enhancing privacy features and making necessary preparations for the upcoming mainnet launch, including the facilitation of user onboarding processes.
Progress is being made to our next BYOC asset, Cardano’s ADA token. Currently work is ongoing and we hope to introduce ADA as a BYOC asset in the future.
We increased the number of leads for partnership in the month of August. We are busy working through them and akin to the two we mentioned above, we hope to continue this trend and be able to show the continued interest on our chain.
We deployed the code to support one of our flagship roadmap items, the BYOC framework. Soon we will introduce this feature in more detail with instructions on how you can submit a token to be a bridgeable asset in Partisia Blockchain.
We have also been busy with updates to our browser to include transaction details, indexing and the ability to deploy contracts. Work is not done however and we will continue to push updates to both migrate functionality currently in the dashboard as well as other key features and functions to ease management of your tokens.
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In a traditional asset trading platform, front running is defined as the illegal practice of placing a trade based on advanced non-public knowledge of an upcoming trade which can impact prices. As shown in the example below, a broker can take advantage of a situation when he or she gets a large order by one of their clients. Since they know this order will impact the price of the asset, they place their own personal order ahead of their client’s order. Then, they place the client order, raising the stock price. Once this is done they will sell their own shares to profit off their clients order.
Another term used often is insider trading, which is based on a very similar practice of using information only they have access to in order to gain an unfair advantage over others.
In the Web3 space, everything is transparent and, ironically, revealing too much information can also create these situations. An example of this is front running on a decentralized exchange (dex) that you may have already heard of. This type of a front running is possible through the combination of having total transparency in the blockchain along with how Ethereum (and many other blockchains) prioritize transactions in a node’s mempool.
In this particular example, an attacker (usually a bot) scans the mempool to see a particular scenario that they can take advantage of. Scanning the mempool, they look for an opportunity to insert in a bid at a lower price but higher gas than another large bid already in the mempool.
Once their bid completes, they wait for the larger order to go through, raising the price of the asset. Then they place a sell order at a higher price than the buy order he placed ahead of the larger order, and pockets the difference. All this is happening in a blink of an eye, making it impossible for any normal person to be able to recognize they are being taken advantage of.
But what if we could make the orders private? This prevents the attacker from being able to read the auction details in the mempool, and making the bot unable to identify a situation to take advantage of.
Through multiparty computation (MPC), details can be kept private while still computing the winner. In the situation of this dex, the results of the prices are not revealed until the bids are completed, ensuring that attackers cannot gain any advantageous information ahead of time.
The team in Partisia has already provided solutions to solve this issue in multiple scenarios. From governments to OTC trading platforms, they have been trusted to run high stakes auctions in different levels and through enabling this technology on a blockchain, we are giving everyone the power to solve the problem of ensuring integrity in the bidding process.
For additional insights on this use case, we recommend viewing our Q&A session on this topic.
By creating a programming language that allows for developers to use MPC in a generic way, Partisia Blockchain Foundation has made the creation of applications that can harness the power of MPC for different use cases a possibility. Partisia has been at the forefront of providing private MPC solutions since 2008. And by layering this technology on top of an interoperable and scalable blockchain, Partisia Blockchain is now paving the way for anyone to create solutions that can balance privacy and transparency to build trust.
To learn more about different use cases or partner with us for solutions, please visit partisiablockchain.com, check out our Medium articles, development documentations or email me at bruce.ahn@partisiablockchain.com