Hello, Satoshi clubbers Another AMA took place in Satoshi Club and we would like to introduce to you the AMA session with our friends from Blank and our guest was Aleksandras G.?—?@AleksandrasG, CEO of Blank, and Iman?—?@ImanHWA, CTO of Blank. The AMA took place on the 1st of March.
The AMA session was divided into 3 parts with a total crypto reward pool of 500$
In this AMA Recap, we will try to summarise the most interesting points for you.
Part 1?—?introduction and questions from the Telegram&WebSite
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Hello Satoshi Club! We are happy to announce our AMA session with Blank! Welcome to Satoshi Club
D. | Satoshi Club:
@AleksandrasG @ImanHWA good to have you here! Welcome!
Aleksandras G.:
Happy to be here! Thanks for having us = )
Iman:
The pleasure is ours, thanks for having us!
Aleksandras G.:
I have to admit, the amount of interest we have received lately has been overwhelming. Excited to see so many faces focused on Blank. Just shows that we are on the right track of bringing privacy to everyday DeFi investors.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Ok, let’s start our fun!!! Could you please introduce yourself and tell us more about Blank!
Aleksandras G.:
Sure! I’m Alex?—?CEO of Blank, and we have @ImanHWA who is our CTO here too. We set out to build Blank after we spent a good time in the DeFi space. To us, it became apparent that with DeFi gaining traction, users started to bring what was a centralized activity before (such as trading) on-chain, which resulted in many leaving a lot of personal data behind.
The current privacy space on Ethereum lacks convenient solutions?—?users have to experience a lot of friction, for what we feel is a simple human desire?—?privacy. So Blank is a solution to answer those issues?—?privacy and convenience.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
How old is your project?
Aleksandras G.:
We started with the conception in November, and we’ve spent all those months in stealth development. We came out of the stealth mode a month ago and focused on finding strategic partners.
I’m happy to say that last week we closed our private sale round and have onboarded a number of experienced industry professionals that will help to make Blank a success.
We’ve posted a blog about this:
https://blankwallet.medium.com/blanks-private-round-of-1-8-million-successfully-closed-oversubscribed-68x-f3df27baaa73
Ethereum is only a starting point for us. We’re sure that as long as other blockchains or layer 2 solutions will get traction in terms of users and ecosystem, Blank will support it too!
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Are you ready to dive deeper into the details and answer the questions from our community? Or you want to add something?
Aleksandras G.:
Well, there’s a lot to tell about Blank!
I think our website and whitepaper does a good job on that, but we can always start from the community questions?—?we’re very curious to learn what are the hottest questions on everyone’s minds
Mary | Satoshi Club:
We can start with the hottest of the hottest
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q1 from Telegram user @borysfireball
I see a wild interest in the upcoming Blank Wallet IDO on Polkastarter! Please tell me if there are limits to wallets that will be whitelisted? What do I need to do to apply for a whitelist? What will be the maximum and minimum limits on IDO? Why did you choose Polkastarter?
Aleksandras G.:
Thanks for the question @borysfireball!
While we have defined some limits per wallet, these are subject to change and haven’t been announced yet. This information will be cleared up in the upcoming days, but we are looking to limit around $500 per whitelisted address (with no minimum).
You can read the whitelisting process criteria here: https://blankwallet.medium.com/the-whitelist-for-blank-wallet-is-now-open-bf0f1baf6d6f
As for the question “why?”?—?we were presented with a lot of options, and we felt like Polkastarter matches with our goal the most?—?getting exposure to the largest community out there.
For us, it’s very important to ensure that Blank wallet will gain traction and usability, and so doing an IDO where the largest number of eyes can see it definitely contributes to the product exposure later down the road.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Do I still have chances to try?
And what do you think in how many seconds your IDO will be completed?
Aleksandras G.:
Our whitelisting form will close tomorrow, so yes?—?You still have the time to apply! I have no idea how fast it’ll sell out, but one can hope for the best
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Thank you! I have no doubts about its success
Ready to proceed?
Aleksandras G.:
Sure!
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q2 from Telegram user @RosemaryBianco
In “cover your commercial activity” you say that users do not need to pass their “KYC” since Blank contains “maximum” privacy and security. Can you explain to me how Blank ensures maximum privacy? What tools do you use to contain maximum privacy and security?
Iman:
The Blank wallet implements several measures to ensure a user’s privacy. There are 2 major categories those measures can be divided into:
1.: On-chain privacy; Using special privacy smart contracts that utilize zkSnarks technology, Blank lets every user mix his funds with a pool of thousands of other deposits with the click of a button.
2.: Off-chain privacy; The Blank wallet also protects the user from off-chain tracking. The wallet does not collect any user data by default. Furthermore, the Tor network is utilized to communicate with the blockchain node provider at all times.
More information on this can be found here: https://blankwallet.medium.com/how-does-the-blank-wallet-work-f0ec59c61b7
Mary | Satoshi Club:
So, no one will be able to track my funds?
Aleksandras G.:
That’s right!
Blank solves privacy in several areas:
Conceal your wealth:
Only you can see, access, and manage your funds. We group your wealth with other individuals’ under a smart contract, so no one can track capital ownership but you.
Hide the origins of your wealth:
Information about how you acquired your wealth should stay with you. We give you the option to hide or show your wealth origins.
Cover your trading activity:
No KYC. Maximum privacy. Each time you make a withdrawal or a new trade, you start on a blank piece of paper?—?a new wallet with no previous activity history.
D. | Satoshi Club:
I have read that you use a 12-word seed-phrase in your wallet. why did you decide to use 12 words instead of 24? I thought a 24-word seed is more secure.
Iman:
Theoretically speaking, 24-word seed phrases are more secure. Practically speaking though, 12-word seed phrases are more than secure enough, with an entropy of 128-bit.
Aleksandras G.:
And then there’s a question of striking a balance between convenience and security.
24-word seed phrase may be marginally more secure but provides a lot more headaches in terms of storage/convenience. For instance, higher odds of having one word written down incorrectly if You write it on a piece of paper, etc.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
That’s right
Ready to go to the next question, guys?
Aleksandras G.:
Always! You can shoot them and we’ll answer as quickly as we can humanly type
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q3 from Telegram user @Arisabela
Isn’t it a secret for everyone that the unusual higher gas fees turn the Blank wallet very expensive to use these days, in one of your papers it’s mentioned that you expect to solve this problem with the implementation of Ethereum 2.0 in the future? What accommodations will be made once this happens and how will be the gas problem fixed or partially fixed?
Aleksandras G.:
Great question! It’s important to outline few aspects here:
Short term
Midterm
Long term
Short term:
We believe that initial Blank’s user base will come from wealthy DeFi investors. We believe that there’s a correlation between a higher amount of wealth, and a higher desire to receive privacy. This is why we feel like in the short term, our initial users won’t be worried about high gas fees, as they would be willing to pay that price for privacy. For instance, in recent months, the usage of Tornado.Cash (which has similar gas prices) only increased.
Midterm:
Certainly, for long-term growth, having lower gas fees is important. As mentioned, we are looking into separate blockchain solutions such as Layer 2?—?Optimism, or separate blockchains such as Polkadot or BINANCE Smart Chain. The important note to make here is that the whole blockchain needs to have usability and ecosystem before we are ready to deploy there. If there are no users there, it’s pointless to expand into that solution, even if the gas fees are low.
Long term:
I feel like blockchains have a similar “chicken-or-the-egg” problem that privacy solutions face. For blockchains, the issue is clear: developers don’t want to build on blockchains that have zero users, and no users want to use blockchain that has zero developed solutions. That is why we believe that Ethereum 2.0 has the biggest odds of continuing this DeFi legacy, and it’s only a matter of time when it comes out. By the way, Vitalik Buterin recently introduced proposals that have already affected the gas usage on Ethereum which contributed to much lower gas fees: (https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/3298).
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Yes, I fully agree
does it mean that you’re at some point Tornado’s competitors, btw?
Iman:
Initially, we will be using the same smart contracts Tornado Cash is currently using. So I would see us less as competitors, but more as infrastructure partners for now. However, in the future, when we move off of Tornado smart contracts, that relationship might change.
Aleksandras G.:
Seems to be for everyone’s benefit
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Ok, but you know that governments hate privacy
What do you think about the legacy of your project?
Aleksandras G.:
I want to make it clear that we aren’t there to help people do illegal activities or hide from not paying taxes, etc.
Blank has features that allow users to comply with law and exchanges in case they desire to do so (proof-of-funds report), but even in that case, the on-chain transactions are hidden, and only the user can choose who he wants to give this information to (that is, to show where his money came from, etc.). In any case, at its core, Blank uses a smart contract, and the responsibility to comply with governments actually relies on the users?—?they choose what they want to do.
We feel like there’s a lot of room where users can benefit from privacy, when it comes to the usual DeFi activities, etc. We’ve all been there?—?I wanted to send ETH to a friend of mine, but didn’t want him to see how much crypto I held or which coins I bought?—?this is where Blank helps everyone with the added privacy.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Ok, thank you! I will definitely use Blank! And my next question… When? When I will be able to use it?
Aleksandras G.:
We are planning to have a closed-access version this month, with a public version likely to launch in April.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Btw, can you share your Roadmap with us?
Iman:
https://esatoshi.club/wp-content/uploads/Roadmap.jpg
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Thanks! Ready to jump to the next question?
Aleksandras G.:
For sure
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q4 from Telegram user @meml97
I read in one of your medium articles that one of the benefits of $BLANK is that: “$BLANK token holders will be subject to considerable fee reductions which will be based on a tier-system depending on how many tokens the user is holding”. So, my question is, could you tell us what is the initial amount a user needs to hold in order to be considered for this fee reduction and how much this reduction of the fee is going to be? What is the max. reduction a user can receive thanks to their holding of $BLANK?
Aleksandras G.:
Thanks for the question @meml97
A more in-depth answer is written on our whitepaper:
https://blank-wallet.github.io/extension-whitepaper/book/BLANK-token/BLANK-token.html
Quote: “As previously discussed, wallet users will be subject to a service fee when using certain privacy features. However, BLANK token holders will benefit from notable fee reductions. Such a fee reduction will be tier-based and will depend on the number of tokens held: 1,000 tokens will equate to a 10% fee reduction; 5,000 tokens?—?15% fee reduction; 10,000–25% fee reduction.”
Mary | Satoshi Club:
So, you will have a fee for every privacy feature usage?
Aleksandras G.:
There will be a fee for withdrawing from the privacy smart contract (regular blockchain transfers will still be free). While the fee is not set yet, we are discussing it to be in the range of 0.25%
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Got it! Let’s see, but as for me, privacy costs it.
Ready for the next question? Or you want to add something?
Aleksandras G.:
For sure! We feel like those fees are highly competitive with the current landscape.
Lets go = )
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q5 from Telegram user @lzamg
As amazing as DeFi is, we all have heard of security issues and hacks happening in the past. Since Blank Wallet is about privacy and anonymity, does that guarantee that all users’ funds are safe in case of hack threats?
Aleksandras G.:
A great question once again!
It is widely known that the DeFi ecosystem has encountered its fair share of hacks. The various hacks stemmed from the Turing-complete code, which has so far made the system rather vulnerable. Blank’s team, dealing with such a delicate matter, sees hacking as a big issue in the Ethereum space.
To limit these concerns, we will use industry-proven strategies that have been efficient in helping with transactional or payment-based platforms. For example, we will examine tested and industry-vetted open source projects, the code of which has been successfully used in preventing hacking risks.
Besides, we will audit the code before releasing it to the public with at least 2 different independent auditors?—?and publish their reports before releasing the update for our users. Lastly, we will implement the bug bounty program, where users will be able to detect bugs for a reward. The bug bounties will be classified by severity in 4 types: from lowest (1) to highest (4).
Thus, our hacking prevention will consist of 3 rather contrasting, but complementary mechanisms: tested technical solutions, the third-party audits from the experts, and the participation of Blank’s user community.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
I see you take security very seriously!
Aleksandras G.:
As all wallets should!
D. | Satoshi Club:
Here is a job for the bounty hunters from Satoshi Club, I know we have a couple
Aleksandras G.:
Nice! We’ll post the bounties in the future on our social media platforms, so make sure to follow us!
D. | Satoshi Club:
Awesome! Satoshi clubbers don’t forget to follow @blankwallet and https://twitter.com/BlankWallet
Mary | Satoshi Club:
Ready for the 6th and last question from this part?
Aleksandras G.:
Yep!
D. | Satoshi Club:
Q6 from Telegram user @KevSalom
I read that Blank Waller has a kind of selective privacy that allows us to customize to who we provide transparency. Tell us about this, how is it set up, in what situations will this be useful, in what situations would I want to be transparent?
Aleksandras G.:
So this is referring to the optional proof-of-funds report.
Generally speaking:
You, the user, can create a report which displays proof of which addresses Your money came from (effectively getting rid of the whole privacy aspect). However, this isn’t on the blockchain and serves as a report which You could then use as proof to anyone You’d like. As outlined before, this is likely mostly needed for when You wish to comply with centralized exchanges or government institutions (if they ask You to show proof of where Your money came from).
D. | Satoshi Club:
Cool feature! so it’s like ‘optional privacy’ in Zcash?
Iman:
It has a similar idea, but as Aleksandras stated, in our case, if the user wishes to reveal his identity, he can do so off-chain and only for chosen entities. While with Zcash, you would reveal your address publicly to everyone.
In that sense Blank’s public’ mode is still a lot more private than Zcash’s.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
So, you think can your users can face issues with centralized exchanges, right? If they use privacy features.
Aleksandras G.:
It will likely come from the compliance aspect or future government regulations. Without this report, they may have issues, but that’s why we designed it to have this feature?—?to avoid any issues for users.
Mary | Satoshi Club:
You will warn your users about this?
I think it’s important.
Aleksandras G.:
Actually, it comes down to each exchange has its own policy. Just like some exchanges accept money deposits and others delist money from their exchange.
D. | Satoshi Club:
Big thank you for answers in part 1! @AleksandrasG @ImanHWA we will open chat for 2 minutes after the chat will be closed?—?you can start select questions from Satoshi Сlub members!
Iman:
Sure, let’s go!
Part 2?—?live questions from the Telegram community
Q1 from Telegram user @ Femi Oyinloye
Are there any additional or potential benefits of POLS holders or users that you are yet to share with us, pls do that?
Aleksandras G.:
POLS holders holding at least 3,000 POLS tokens for the last 7 days are able to access the exclusive pool to purchase BLANK tokens on the IDO day.
Q2 from Telegram user @ amila | TheFutbolCoin
Why didn’t choose BSC?
Aleksandras G.:
Ethereum currently has the largest ecosystem and largest amount of users.
As mentioned, we are looking to launch on BSC on the future, if it will continue to have a large user base.
Q3 from Telegram user @ Artillery Trade
How can I be sure the money that got into my wallet is not from a drug dealer?
Iman:
The funds you will receive from a withdrawal will always be the same you deposited from your own wallet before. The trick is, that no one else knows which depositing wallet those funds come from, giving you a new identity.
Q4 from Telegram user @
SCREENSHOT
What kind of coins can I store in the Blank wallet and is there a fee?
Iman:
Initially, you will be able to store ETH and any ERC-20 token in the Blank wallet. There is a fee, but only for interacting with the privacy smart contracts. Besides that, you can use the wallet like any other browser extension wallet, completely free of charge.
Q5 from Telegram user @ Tuvalunia
Will Blank project have a browser plugin like Metamask, or mobile app, or both?
Aleksandras G.:
We stand for convenience. We’ve personally never used mobile wallets to hold crypto because it’s inconvenient (let alone interact with DeFi applications!) So Blank will only be a browser wallet for now.
Q6 from Telegram user @ Gabriel Lee
What wallet can we use to store BLANK tokens?
Iman:
Any ERC-20 comparable wallet. In the best case, you late store $BLANK inside the Blank wallet.
Q7 from Telegram user @
SCREENSHOT
Do you have a token for voting?
Aleksandras G.:
The upcoming BLANK token functionality will include governance. So it will be the same token!
Q8 from Telegram user @ Surendra Satoshi Club
Hello! @AleksandrasG @ImanHWA
How could I join Blank wallet IDO? Are there any requirements to get whitelisted
Iman:
Hello! For info regarding the whitelisting, it’d be best for you to check out our tweet:
https://twitter.com/BlankWallet/status/1365306000505454593
Q9 from Telegram user @ Jolaine #FM Team
How resistant is Blank Wallet to data analysis such as Chain analysis that continually does a deep analysis of the blockchain?
Aleksandras G.:
That’s exactly one of the reasons why we came up with Blank! To prevent chain analytics. Blank’s smart contract greatly reduces the odds of on-chain analytics if certain steps are taken (ie, delayed time between deposit and withdrawal, etc.)
Q10 from Telegram user @ Khalee
How will Blank Wallet incentivize users who want to refer new users? Are there any rewards for newly registered users?
Iman:
As you can check on our Roadmap, we are planning to integrate a referral system! You can read the details of it here:
https://blank-wallet.github.io/extension-whitepaper/book/business-model/business-model.html
Part 3?—?Quiz Results
As usual, for the third part, Satoshi Club Team asked the chat 4 questions about the crypto project. A link to a Quiz form was sent into the chat.
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