From token launch to a truly global mixnet — Nym in 2022
A wrap up of Nym in 2022…
A wrap up of Nym achievements in 2022…
Nym was founded to enable digital privacy and security for humanity. This year, the Nym mixnet went live to fix a fundamental flaw in the design of the internet: the fact that traffic flows are entirely exposed, revealing everyone’s patterns of communication, putting people, systems and societies at risk. This is all about to change…
In 2023, we are looking forward to reaching our next major milestones, including: high speed mixnet, censorship resistant gateways, major integrations, privacy preserving paid usage via zk-nyms and new PEApps!
Before leaving 2022 behind, we would like to take a brief glance back on an eventful year for Nym. Here are a few highlights of what has been achieved over the past 12 months through the tireless work and support of our community, backers, partners and team:
- Over 1m registrations (a Coinlist record!) for the Nym token sale!
- Nym launch with Edward Snowden in Paris.
- Launch of the Nym wallet and explorer, enabling mixnet staking and delegating.
- An active community of mix nodes operators across 5 continents — now a truly global mixnet!
- An ecosystem including functioning NYM tokenomics, staking activity, token liquidity, custody and initial apps by team and dev community!
- Launch of the Nym Innovation fund and Shipyard Developer Grants scheme
- 6,000+ sign ups for Nym Shipyard Academy and a first cohort of graduates!
- Launch of NymConnect, to privacy-enhance apps and wallets like Telegram, Electrum, Keybase and Blockstream Green and stress test the mixnet.
- Nym clients and Nym SDK release, bringing the powers of mixnet technology to ordinary browsers!
- Coconut credentials developed from early R&D through to releasing DKG for bandwidth credentials, the first use-case of zk-nym!
- Advanced R&D on anonymous credentials for e-cash and privacy preserving KYC.
- Co-founded Universal Privacy Alliance alongside major privacy tech projects!
- Team journey to Kyiv in the midst of the Russian invasion to support the KTS hackathon, issuing the AnonDrop bounty.
- Advisory board expanded to include probably the world’s youngest ex-Central Bank director, Andrés Arauz joining Google principal engineer Ben Laurie, IOHK chief scientist Aggelos Kiayias, privacy expert Carmela Troncoso from EPFL, CEO of OKFN Renata Avila, Head of COSIC and Bart Preneel of KU-Leuven, co-founder of Mysten Labs, ex-Diem engineer George Danezis.
…and so much more.
Nym CEO Harry Halpin presenting the full history of mixnets from until Nym — to core team and Shipyard academy participants, watch his talk here.
Nym CEO Harry Halpin, launching the Universal Privacy Alliance together with Michelle Lai, Kenny Li of p0xeidon labs (Manta Network) and Jarrad Hope of Status at a packed zk-house in Bogota during DevCon. Joined by Secret Network, Orchid Protocol, Oasis Protocol, ECC (ZCash), Aleo, Aztec Protocol, Mobilecoin and Anoma — to change the tide on privacy and make privacy normal again.
The core team contributed to 50+ events across the world, here Nym hardware optimisation lead Chelsea Manning and Carmela Troncoso speaking at a major event on The Future of Privacy and Data in Wartime at the Rolex Learning Centre at EPFL.
The core team visited Kyiv during the war to support and sponsor the Kyiv Tech Summit and AnonDrop bounty (for securely uploading evidence of war crimes). Alexis Roussel and Jaya Klara Brekke of Nym Core here with Alona Shevchenko of UkraineDAO and the Minister for Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov.
Ahmed Ghappour joined Nym as General Counsel, here at Hope (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference with Michelle Lai and Lane Rettig.
Andrei Serjantov joined the Nym team as CFO, from BNP Paribas — here with CZ at Binance Blockchain week in Paris.
Mixnet usage has been growing since launch — and through our many stress test events, getting ready for major integrations in the new year!
Developer Relations team expanded to three people, led by Max Hampshire, here presenting anonymous credentials on Nyx at Privacy Paradigm in partnership with Dusk, Gensyn, Anoma and Maven 11.
Nym dev team were among the most prolific in shipping code in the Cosmos ecosystem! (Image: CosmosATOMDaily on Twitter)
Nym advisors CEO of OKFN Renata Avila and former Director of Central Bank of Ecuador Andres Arauz at CPDP in Brazil.
Nym was at Cosmoverse in Colombia, which kick started a Nym growth spurt across Latin America…
Ever since, Nym mixnodes have been appearing in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile — as well as the first in Uganda and South Africa!
Linking up with the new President of Signal app, Meredith Whittaker — the alliance to defeat surveillance capitalism spans chat apps, mixnets and blockchains!
In fact, Nym’s largest communities are outside the US and Europe — the Turkish community being among the top, here at the first Nym meet-up in Istanbul.
Work has been commencing on censorship resistance too — Nym developer Yana Matrosova with CEO Harry Halpin presenting at an anti-censorship event for Ukrainians and Russians in exile in France.
The world’s first purchase over the Nym mixnet! Took place via the privacy-enhanced Electrum wallet.
Nym core had its annual team off-site in Rhodes, Greece to advance our roadmap…
…followed shortly after by a Nym executive team retreat. From left to right: Alexis Roussel, Ahmed Ghappour, Andrei Serjantov, Claudia Diaz, Harry Halpin, Jaya Klara Brekke, Jess Hrycyszyn, Mark Sinclair, Ania Piotrowska, Dave Hrycyszyn.
Our vision for 2023 is to ensure that privacy technologies and their narratives are brought up to speed with the challenges of ubiquitous digital intermediation and AI-powered surveillance. The year ahead will be all about bringing the powers of the mixnet to the mainstream as well as opening the eyes and minds of the masses to the magic of zk cryptography and anonymous credentials!
Finally, a huge thank you to our community, backers and advisors and of course to all you punks, traders and trolls — happy holidays and see you in the new year!
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