Welcome to The Stack CafeTM — Enigma is an interesting project in the blockchain stack. Apparently, Enigma is presenting a permission-less peer-to-peer network that provides a smart-contract platform (e.g. similar to Ethereum) that enables the development of decentralized applications (dApps), but the contracts are secret (privacy by design). We will try to provide a very brief overview of this new addition to the blockchain stack.
In the Enigma’s own words:
“Enigma is using groundbreaking privacy technologies to build the first platform for scalable, end-to-end decentralized applications.”
“A peer-to-peer network, enabling different parties to jointly store and run computations on data while keeping the data completely private.”
Key contact points for Enigma:
- Enigma
- @EnigmaMPC
- Enigma Protocol
- Enigma Test-net
- Enigma blog
- Research Papers
- Decentralizing Privacy: Using Blockchain to Protect Personal Data
- Enigma: Decentralized Computation Platform with Guaranteed Privacy
- Co-Founder’s Thesis – Efficient Secure Computation Enabled by Blockchain Technology
- Catalyst – Catalyst is the world’s leading platform for data-driven cryptoasset trading and investment.
Some of the key components that Enigma is offering:
- a platform to enable developers to build ’privacy by design’
- end-to-end decentralized applications
- the need for a trusted third party
Enigma’s contracts engine uses Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs – executing all contract code) which can hide data and is compliant with Ethereum (some exceptions e.g. define logic in contract…). In addition, Enigma plans to release even stronger privacy protocols for dApps in 2019 that will allow using various execution environments, either TEEs or Multi-Party Computations via a Distributed VM. Enigma also plans on migrating away from the Ethereum blockchain so all dApps run on the Enigma blockchain to improve – dramatically – the scalability of the blockchain.
This is another interesting project for the blockchain stack and should provide for some great use cases (e.g., data marketplace, secure backend, internal compartmentalization, N-factor authentication, Identity, Internet of Things, Distributed Personal Data Stores, crypto-banks, blind e-voting, wallets…). Go check out Enigma and, if you are a developer, sign-up for the private test-net and start using and developing for it. We will try and provide updates to Enigma.
Thanks again for visiting The Stack CafeTM and we look forward to hearing from you.
Please help us put out the word on Web3.0 and the blockchain stack by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized WayTM. A decentralized internet | The Way The FutureTM.