What is NYM? All You Need to Know About NYM (2024)

In today’s world, the internet is a cornerstone of daily life, seamlessly integrating into various aspects from the ordinary to the transformative. As we embrace this digital era, the pace of change is staggering. However, amidst this progress, a critical element lags behind: privacy. The escalating surveillance and data collection by various entities have outpaced the development of robust privacy technologies. This growing disparity highlights an urgent need for solutions that prioritize user privacy in the digital landscape. Addressing this challenge, the NYM platform emerges, weaving together advanced privacy technologies to rebalance the scales in favor of user confidentiality.

What is NYM (NYM)?

NYM, a platform enhancing internet privacy, began its journey in 2018. Its CEO Harry Halpin, a former MIT Senior Research Scientist, contributed to the Web Cryptography API standardization with Tim Berners-Lee.

In 2019, NYM entered a pivotal phase of fundraising and development, commencing with a seed funding round on May 13, raising $2.5 million from notable investors such as NEO Global Capital and Binance. This period was marked by the release of early prototypes and a litepaper, culminating in the launch of the first version of its decentralized mixnet.

The year 2020 was dedicated to technological refinement. NYM reengineered its mixnet in Rust to boost performance and unveiled the first crypto testnet and mixnodes at the Chaos Computer Congress. Additionally, it decentralized its directory authority using Tendermint, signifying a major step in its developmental journey.

The momentum continued into 2021, a year of significant growth and expansion. NYM announced two Series A funding rounds: the first in July, raising $6 million, and the second in November, securing an additional $13 million. These rounds attracted investment from industry heavyweights like Polychain and Andreessen Horowitz. 2021 also saw the launch of the Nym Network Explorer, the Nym Block Explorer, and a Web Wallet with Authenticator Integration, alongside the development of Nym Private Credentials and Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure.

Throughout these years, NYM’s progression has been supported by venture capitalists and validators, underpinning its commitment to safeguarding privacy at the network layer and offering ‘layer 0 privacy’ for transactions across diverse blockchains. The Nym mixnet operates on the Nyx blockchain, utilizing its native Nym token (NYM) to incentivize operators.

How Does NYM Work?

Nym mixnet, a groundbreaking privacy solution, redefines internet security. This decentralized network, with three encryption-laden layers, ensures all data passing through looks identical, effectively anonymizing online communication. By obscuring metadata, including IP addresses, the mixnet embodies the principle that greater data mixing enhances overall privacy.

Traditional internet protocols, often vulnerable to data leaks, pale in comparison to Nym’s robust protection. It masks IP addresses and traffic patterns, seamlessly integrating with any blockchain or application, and powers Nym Connect. This comprehensive approach guards not just content but also metadata, offering a full spectrum of privacy.

Nym’s economic model is as innovative as its technology. Users pay in NYM tokens to transmit data through the mixnet, incentivizing node operators through a staking system. This ‘proof of mixing’ concept, akin to Bitcoin’s mining, ensures Nym’s decentralization and sustainability.

Nym’s scope extends beyond network-level privacy. It supports a wide range of applications, from cryptocurrencies to instant messaging, standing out for its ability to protect against advanced surveillance. Unlike centralized VPNs, Nym’s decentralized, blockchain-based system offers enhanced security. The platform’s versatility transforms existing applications into Privacy Enhanced Applications (PEApps), maintaining user privacy without compromising functionality.

Coconut

Coconut, another key component of Nym’s privacy architecture, is a cryptographic signature scheme producing privacy-enhanced credentials, fundamentally shifting security focus from identity verification to rights-based validation. This approach enables applications to verify whether an entity has the right to perform a specific action, rather than confirming their identity. Coconut facilitates this by allowing signing authorities and validators to cooperatively determine if a private key holder is authorized for an action. These credentials can be re-randomized, creating new, untraceable credentials while retaining their original permissions.

Distinct from traditional signature schemes like RSA or DSA, Coconut introduces features like blind signatures, which hide the message’s content from the signer, protecting user privacy. Its re-randomizable signatures allow users to present credentials multiple times as new and unlinkable, enhancing privacy against both signers and service providers. Additionally, Coconut supports selective disclosure, enabling partial message verification for various applications, from private voting systems to selective medical data sharing.

Coconut’s threshold issuance decentralizes signature generation, enhancing the system’s security and flexibility. This feature is particularly useful in blockchain contexts, where Coconut can anonymize transactions and smart contracts. It’s a versatile technology, applicable to both blockchain and non-blockchain systems, redefining privacy in digital interactions and offering a more private alternative to pseudonymous systems.

NYM Use Cases

The NYM Network, offering decentralized privacy infrastructure, presents a range of applications and use cases:

Secure and Private Messaging: NYM ensures end-to-end encryption for messaging, ideal for journalists, activists, and those handling sensitive information, safeguarding communications from surveillance and breaches.
Anonymous Browsing: It allows users to browse the web anonymously by routing traffic through a decentralized network of nodes, concealing the user’s IP address. This is essential for privacy-conscious individuals and those in regions with strict internet censorship.
Decentralized VPN: Functioning as a decentralized VPN, NYM encrypts internet traffic and routes it through a global node network. This feature is vital for secure and private internet access, especially for users on public Wi-Fi networks.
Data Sharing and Collaboration: NYM provides a platform for secure data sharing and collaboration, enabling encrypted connections for confidential document sharing and collaboration, crucial in sectors like healthcare, finance, and legal.
Blockchain Anonymity: By integrating with blockchain networks, NYM enhances the anonymity of blockchain transactions. It anonymizes transaction data and the involved parties, providing additional privacy layers for those in the cryptocurrency space.

The NYM Network stands as a versatile and robust solution for enhancing digital privacy and security. Its applications, ranging from secure messaging to blockchain anonymity, cater to a diverse set of needs, making it an invaluable tool for individuals and organizations prioritizing confidentiality in the increasingly surveilled digital landscape.

In comparison to Tor, the NYM Network provides a more versatile and robust solution for digital privacy and security.

What is the NYM Coin?

NYM Coin is a native cryptocurrency token used for incentives within the NYM Network. Its maximum supply is capped at 1 billion units, of which 634.7 million (63.47%) are already in circulation (December 2023).

The NYM token is vital to the Nym Network, a utility token designed to promote privacy over traditional surveillance-based digital models. Distinct from regular privacy coins, NYM operates a decentralized mixnet, offering essential network layer privacy for a variety of digital currencies and applications, thereby ensuring ‘layer 0 privacy’ in transactions and communication.

NYM tokens grant users access to the mixnet, playing a pivotal role in the network’s token economics. Users can delegate NYM to high-performing mix nodes, earning rewards for their contribution. Holding NYM also allows users to bond a mix node or delegate stakes to others, with rewards proportionate to the node’s efficacy in traffic mixing and privacy maintenance.

Transaction fees on the blockchain are paid in NYM tokens, maintaining an up-to-date network-wide map of mix nodes and their reputation. This usage-based model benefits the nodes, supporting the Nym network’s growth. The ‘proof of mixing’ system rewards nodes in NYM tokens for their service quality, akin to Bitcoin’s mining rewards.

The reward distribution algorithm in the mixnet compensates both active and standby nodes, taking into account their reputation, performance, and operational costs. In essence, the NYM token is a fundamental component of the Nym mixnet, incentivizing the maintenance of a decentralized network that places a high priority on privacy and security in digital interactions.

Token Allocation:

25% Mix-Mining: Reserved for rewarding nodes participating in the mixnet.
20% Team: Allocated to the development team and contributors.
7.5% Coinlist Sale: Distributed through a public sale on Coinlist.
12% Reserve & Community: Set aside for community initiatives and reserve purposes.
35.5% Backers: Allocated to early backers and investors of the project.

Source: nymtech.net

NYM Main Features

Nym Network’s zk-nyms, leveraging the Coconut protocol, provide a groundbreaking approach to accessing digital services while preserving user privacy. Traditionally, online activities like streaming or shopping require sharing personal information, but zk-nyms change this dynamic, enabling anonymous verification of access rights without revealing sensitive details. They function as decentralized, cryptographic credentials, issued by authorities like Nyx blockchain validators. These validators issue credentials with “threshold issuance,” which prevents full deanonymization of users. Users can then cryptographically prove their rights to digital services while maintaining anonymity.

Key features of zk-nyms include threshold issuance, ensuring validators only have partial key access; blind signatures, which conceal private details from validators; unlinkability, preventing traceability between credential issuance and use; and re-randomizable signatures, allowing repeated credential use without compromising privacy. This innovation in zk-nyms marks a significant step in online privacy and anonymity, laying the foundation for exploring further aspects of the Nym Network, such as wallet and staking.

Source: nymtech.net

Wallet & Staking

The Nym Wallet, a user-friendly interface, allows individuals to interact with the network. Through this wallet, users can stake NYM tokens, a process vital for the network’s security and efficiency. Staking involves committing tokens to support the operation of mix nodes, which are essential for the network’s privacy functions.

By staking NYM tokens, users contribute to the network’s robustness and earn rewards for their participation. This incentive mechanism ensures a steady supply of high-quality mix nodes, as token holders are motivated to support reliable nodes to maximize their returns. Additionally, the Nym Wallet enables users to manage their tokens, delegate stakes to different nodes, and track their staking rewards.

The staking process in Nym is straightforward, making it accessible even to those new to blockchain technology. Users simply bond NYM tokens in their wallet to a mix node, either their own or someone else’s, to participate in the network’s staking system. This functionality not only enhances network performance but also democratizes the maintenance of the Nym ecosystem, allowing a broad base of users to contribute to and benefit from its privacy-enhancing capabilities.

Is NYM a Good Investment?

NYM’s technology, characterized by its robust and sophisticated design, positions it at the forefront of privacy-enhancing solutions in the digital realm. The platform’s focus on safeguarding user privacy through innovative methods like mixnets and zk-nyms indicates its potential relevance in the evolving technological landscape. As privacy continues to gain prominence as a critical concern, NYM’s approach to ensuring user anonymity and data protection could become increasingly significant. However, the future of such privacy-centric projects will also hinge on their reception by governments and institutions. The balance between privacy preservation and regulatory compliance presents a challenge, making the trajectory of NYM and similar initiatives a subject of keen interest in the changing dynamics of technology and governance.

Looking ahead to 2024, NYM’s focus will be on integrating privacy at institutional and enterprise scales, particularly in fintech, medical, and personal data sectors. This approach aims to embed privacy into core societal infrastructures, recognizing its importance as a fundamental right.

How to Own NYM?

To own NYM, you can use the services of a centralized crypto exchange. Start by creating a Gate.io account, and get it verified and funded. Then you are ready to go through the steps to buy NYM.

News on NYM

According to what was reported on Nym’s Medium channel on November 16, 2023, NymVPN is launching with a focus on enhancing online privacy. This innovative VPN, utilizing the decentralized Nym network, ensures user anonymity with novel onion encryption and zk-nyms for payment privacy. Offering two modes - a speedy 2-hop VPN and a mixnet mode for metadata protection, NymVPN caters to various user needs, balancing efficient streaming with robust privacy for sensitive online activities. This development marks a significant advancement in privacy technology.

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