Komodo [KMD]: Komodo was launched prior to ZEC, after Zcash source code had been made public. Komodo has rolled out the Antara Framework for launching new blockchains and a full-featured test environment for blockchain development (KMD Labs). They also pioneered a mechanism called Delayed Proof of Work (DPOW) that secures smaller chains with the security of bitcoin. Komodo has launched its public beta version of its AtomicDEX, making it available for both Android and iOS users.
Komodo enables projects to build their own chains, dubbed Smart Chains. These smart chains have the option to include a privacy module, alongside a host of other features, but this is entirely optional.
It is important to note that whilst Komodo is a fork of Zcash, and offers optional privacy features, it is not itself a privacy blockchain.
Visit Komodo website
Hush [HUSH]: Hush recently migrated their codebase from ZEC-forked code, to a codebase derived directly from KMD’s prior work. Hush has created Hushlist, a means for users to communicate using zero-knowledge technology, similar to mailing lists. Journalists, whistleblowers, or anyone needing to communicate with many others, in a privacy-sensitive way can use it. According to Hush’s lead developer, Duke Leto: “Hush was the first Zcash Protocol coin to remove the 1.6GB download requirement prior to syncing, which in addition to it having the smallest on-disk chain size of ~1GB, makes [it] the most bandwidth-efficient fork”.
Visit Hush website
PirateChain: PirateChain boasts the largest anonymity set of any functioning network, and are currently the only ZEC-derived codebase that takes on privacy from an Opt-Out perspective (i.e. by default — users must opt-out by sharing a viewkey). PirateChain is also a member of the KMD ecosystem.
Visit PirateChain website
Several projects from Monero’s ecosystem, that epitomize innovation:
Swap [XWP]: Swap is also derived from Monero and inherits privacy from RingCT and the CryptoNote protocol. Swap’s most innovative contribution is its implementation of a completely different mining algorithm, Cuckaroo29s. Cuckoo cycle (PoW algorithm) is only 42 lines of code in its complete specification. This means that external parties can more easily audit Swap’s code. It also means that block verification is much faster than those based on the CryptoNight PoW algorithm. Visit Swap website
Other Forks: Even Monero developers acknowledge the advantages of smaller, light-weight forks in making innovative changes. The internal group of XMR’s main contributors develop most of the Monero Forks. Many of these function as testing beds for prospective features on Monero. Projects in this subgroup include Masari, Aeon, and Wownero to name only a few.
Blur
Blur [Blur]: is a fork from Monero’s codebase. As a result, both chains choose Opt-Out privacy by default. Blur provides a refreshingly different perspective on the issue of specialized mining hardware than the typically-seen “ASIC-resistance” ideal. ASIC-resistance is something that has attracted criticism from entities like Coinbase, recently.
Blur plans to feature a multi-PoW ecosystem, incorporating multiple self-similar proof-of-work blockchains. The idea is to create separate faction-based chains for specialized hardware. The respective devices mine them in a more advantageous way. Targeting key differences in chip design, and using independent chains to isolate hardware with incentives, The Blur Network plans to provide an inclusive ecosystem for all mining hardware, in a more logically competitive manner.
According to Biz, lead developer of Blur, “What we see going on within privacy coins is an illogical battle between hardware and developers. We see developers overly focused on building ever-higher fences, that only they were tall enough to see over. This does not solve the problem. It creates it. So, we are designing a new solution; one that includes not only specialized mining hardware, but a means to keep CPU mining logical, for a longer period of time.”
In addition, BLUR will become the first-ever cross-chain communication between the worlds of BTC, ZEC, and XMR.
Visit Blur’s website.
Your Eyes Only — a privacy blockchain-enabled future
The 2019 Netflix document, The Great Hack, shone a very bright light on how little privacy and control we have over our personal information.
In this documentary, it showed how Cambridge Analytica got their data from the Facebook developers, who created a survey app, This Is Your Digital Life, harvested data not just on the (270,000) Facebook users of the app, but on the 87 million U.S. Facebook users who were friends of friends. They were able to do this through default permissions that few users knew about. At the time, users needed to opt-out by going deep into privacy settings and clicking a button that said, “Don’t let developers share my friends’ data.”
In our technology-enabled world, privacy, and the right to privacy will continue to gain momentum as a human-rights issue. The combination of privacy-focused technology, government regulation and legislation, expensive but necessary court cases and consumer action will create the catalyst of change.
There is no doubt that the ongoing development and advancement of privacy-focused and centric blockchains will play an integral role in solving the technical aspects of this issue.
