NYM is an open source, decentralized security system built on Ethereum. In order to enable applications, services, and blockchains to safeguard data for their users at the Mixnet and application levels without having to design a security solution, Nym provides a robust security framework.
With the help of Nym, developers may make Dapps that provide clients with solid protection against metadata surveillance at the network traffic, authentication, and payment levels. The Nym Protocol will enable moderators to manage associated nodes in the network and make profit from them.
Furthermore, Nym is a permissionless protocol developed to prevent data leakage from other internet protocols. In addition, Nym delivers privacy on the stack, connecting to dApps, services, and other blockchains to enable users to protect vast amounts of data.
History Of Nym
The project was established in 2018. The NYM’s Twitter was established in November 2018 and currently has 142.6k followers.
Funding
Nym Technologies has raised a total of $24.9M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Nov 17, 2021 from a Series A round.
Nym Technologies is funded by 16 investors. Andreessen Horowitz and HashKey Capital are the most recent investors.
Nym Technologies has raised a total of $300M in a single venture fund, NYM Innovation fund. This fund was announced on May 4, 2022 and raised a total of $300M.
Funding Rounds
Number of Funding Rounds
4
Total Funding Amount
$24.9M
Seed Round: Held on May 13, 2019, with $2.5 million raised. With the participation of some typical Investors such as NEO Global Capital (NGC), Lemniscap, Eden Block, Binance, 1kx
Series A: Announced on July 16, 2021, with a raised capital of $6.5 million. With the participation of prominent Investors: Polychain, Maven 11 Capital, Greenfield One, Eden Block, 1kx
Seed Round: Announced on August 12, 2021, with $2.9 million raised.
Series A: Announced on November 17, 2021, with a raised capital of $13 million. With the participation of prominent Investors: Tayssir Capital, Huobi Capital, Hashkey, Fenbushi Capital, Digital Currency Group, Andreessen Horowitz
Striking Features Of NYM
The services users use, the people they interact with, and their online activities can all be seen by third parties who can monitor a user’s traffic these days. Even if a user utilizes an encrypted messaging software such as WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal, it is still feasible to determine how they use these programs.
This relates to layer 0 privacy, which is at the network level. Cryptocurrencies like ZCash, Monero, and Mimblewimble can offer anonymity at the blockchain level, but they can also be deactivated over time and get involved in network activities.
Hackers can still access user data and privacy even though VPN customers are required to have trust in the VPN provider.
Even though Tor and 12P are more sophisticated upgrades, they cannot guarantee privacy in the face of hackers who have complete network control. The goal of Tor’s design was quick browsing. Nym’s Mixnet provides users with superior performance and efficiency as a result.
Nym Offers The Following Solutions:
Ensure Confidential At The Network Layer: Nym uses the multiplayer network Mixnet to forward and encrypt your internet data. The Nym Mixnet is a multi-purpose mixnet that assists in preventing traffic analysis by people and organizations, including the NSA, that have the ability to spy on the entire internet.
Incentivized And Decentralized: Users must pay a fee in NYM (the native token of Nym Mixnet) in order to submit their data across the mixnet. By posting an initial bond of NYM, anyone can run a union node.
Any holder of NYM may delegate to a node in order to enhance its reputation. Then, nodes are rewarded with NYM tokens according to their position and performance level for combining packages and providing end users with anonymity.Adapts To Multiple Apps: Any blockchain can gain from the network-level anonymity offered by Nym, as can other commonly used apps. In order to secure the network layer and user metadata, including that for Bitcoin and instant messaging, developers can build their apps on top of Nym.
Enables any arbitrary “key:value” pair to be made anonymous by outside applications. From there, people can discretely provide any or all of their data in order to authenticate themselves and adhere to any legal requirements.
Core Technology Of NYM
Nym Mixnet: Nym Mixnet collects data and metadata at the network layer while providing leak protection. Mixnet is a secure network that can be used with most other services and apps without needing to be adjusted, allowing anyone or a service provider to be sure of the security of their clients.
Further More, A Nym Mixnet, also known as the Nym Mix Network, refers to a privacy-enhancing technology designed to enhance the anonymity and privacy of network communication. It’s built on the concept of mix networks, which aim to obscure the origin and destination of messages, making it difficult for adversaries to track the communication flow.
Nym is a project that focuses on building a decentralized mixnet infrastructure to provide strong privacy guarantees for network traffic. It’s designed to be resistant to traffic analysis and surveillance, allowing users to send messages and data across the network while preventing eavesdroppers from determining the sender, recipient, and content of the communication.
Here’s a basic overview of how a Nym Mixnet works:
1. Message Mixing: When a user sends a message through the Nym Mixnet, the message is divided into smaller packets and then sent through a series of intermediate nodes called “mixes” or “mixnodes.” These mixes reshuffle and reroute the packets to obfuscate the original source and destination of the message.
2. Layered Encryption: The packets are encrypted in layers as they traverse through the mixnodes. Each mixnode can only decrypt and read one layer of encryption, so no single mixnode can determine the complete path of the message.
3. Cover Traffic: To make it even harder for observers to distinguish real messages from fake ones, Nym mixnet includes cover traffic. This cover traffic consists of dummy messages that are mixed in with the real messages, making it challenging for eavesdroppers to determine which messages are legitimate.
4. Decentralization: The Nym Mixnet is designed to be decentralized, meaning that no single entity controls all the mixnodes. This helps prevent centralized points of control or failure.
5. Incentives and Rewards: Nym uses a system of incentives and rewards to encourage users to participate as mixnode operators. This ensures a diverse and distributed network of nodes.
6. Economic Security: Nym’s mixnet design also includes mechanisms to discourage malicious behavior and attacks on the network. Nodes that behave maliciously can face economic penalties.
Overall, Nym Mixnet aims to provide a higher level of privacy and anonymity for online communications compared to traditional networking protocols. It’s particularly valuable for individuals, organizations, and activities that require confidential or sensitive communications in a digital age where privacy is becoming increasingly challenging to maintain.
2. Nym Credentials: Nym Credentials is a certificate (credential) that allows a client to confirm the entry and decide that the data will be handled appropriately while staying private. Certificates provide encrypted information for a service or application. Without divulging the connection between the client and the service provider they utilize, this method will be independently validated.
3. Nym Tokens: Nym tokens will be used to increase protection and make the Mixnet decentralized and sustainable as a result of the POW reward scheme. Because Nym only consumes the amount of gas required by the grid, it won’t have a significant environmental impact.
This shows that network-level security is completely decentralized and does not require packaging by a third-party vendor, such as a VPN. Additionally, Nym offers a higher level of security than VPNs and can enable providers with impressive latency reduction because to PoW incentives.
What is NYM Coin ($NYM Token)
$NYM is the native token of the Nym Mixnet. It is a utility token that is utilized to gain access to the mixnet for privacy safeguards and acts as “reputation” and compensation for the nodes that manage the infrastructure. Users will access the mixnet using NYM tokens, transmitting their data across the mixnet for more privacy. For distributing traffic and ensuring users’ anonymity on the Nym network, mix nodes are rewarded in NYM.
The fees that are collected in NYM are added to a reward pool, from which mix nodes get payouts based on their reputation and efficiency. Each mix node’s reputation is calculated using NYM. People are able to delegate NYM to mix nodes, thereby endorsing the reputation of the mix node and gaining a portion of the rewards.
Delegation of NYM promotes the mixnet to provide high-quality service while supporting decentralization. As opposed to a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, NYM is intended to be utilized exclusively within the Nym network.
