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Article: Keep-NuCypher Merger was for Better Private Data Sharing

The Keep-NuCypher merger resulted in better private data sharing on public blockchains and was a win for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).

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nucypher merger
Author: Mensah Alkebu-Lan

Table of Contents #

What is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization? #

One of the glaring differences between Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and traditional organizations is that DAOs are usually fully democratized and traditional organizations are usually hierarchical. I would argue that is the definition of DAO. An organization where control is spread out across the participants

I should be clear the DAO we’re speaking of is not The DAO created in 2016 even though much could be learned from that. It was a revolutionary project that initially raised over $150 million in Ether.

As the story goes, a split was brought about in the community when a hacker took advantage of one of the project’s vulnerabilities and was able to steal $60 million in Ether from the organization’s members. The split was over what to do about it.

Part of the community wanted to blacklist the hacker's IP so he couldn’t move the funds. Another part wanted to roll back the source code so the investors could get their money back. Eventually they did the latter. The Securities Exchange Commission would even chimed in later with a July 2017 report concluding the DAO tokens used by this organization were securities and therefore subject to federal security laws.

Needless to say, it was definitely an interesting chapter for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Developers have had some years to rethink things since then.

DAOs are Based on Smart Contracts #

DAOs are internet-native in nature. Membership in a DAO is generally share-based or token-based. By token-based, I mean governance tokens. These are some of the decisions an organization has to make to agree on how voting power is going to be allocated.

What this has to do with crypto is many DAOs have found ethereum to be a solid foundation for their organization. Part of it has to do with smart contracts which emerged as a product of the Ethereum network. Smart contracts cannot be modified by anyone (including the owners) once it’s live, and when group funds need to be managed, smart contracts can be used to send and receive funds. Along with the smart contracts, there is the open source code which cannot be changed except by consensus vote.

Keep-NuCypher Merger Forms Threshold Network #

NuCypher is a blockchain product that focuses on creating privacy for its users. With it, users can share private data between one another on a public blockchain, eliminating the need for a private network. NU token holders can also stake their NU tokens to run nodes for the project, in turn yielding more NU.

Last summer, June 11th, the Keep and NuCypher networks decided to merge their protocols into a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Both the Keep and NuCypher communities approved the merger. In an email from NuCypher CEO MacLane Wilkison, he described the proposal as a “big moment for the entire crypto space.” One of the first products they began building on the new protocol was a censorship-resistant wrapped bitcoin called tBTC v2.

All work was completed January 1, 2022. The T token, which is a product of the Threshold Network, is now available.

Follow NuCypher on Social Media #

Additional Details #

Get details like the current price, circulating supply, and 24-hour trading volume of Threshold:

References #

  1. 2 Ethereum Projects Are Officially Merging; 'Keanu' Aims for August Launch
  2. NU Crypto News: NuCypher Takes a Trip to the Moon Ahead of KEEP Merger | InvestorPlace
  3. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) | ethereum.org
  4. What is DAO - Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
  5. What is a decentralized autonomous organization, and how does a DAO work?