Nov 21, 2022 Frank Stewskid

Cardano is working on a new privacy-oriented blockchain called Midnight

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson announced that Input Output Global (IOG) – the legal entity behind the development of Cardano is working on launching a new privacy-focused blockchain. The network will be called Midnight and will have its own token called DUST. The announcement came during an event at Edinburgh University, where IOG is funding a $4.5 million research hub. 

At the core of the new blockchain will be the widely adopted Zero-Knowledge-Proof technology, which DeFi Teller explored in a video – check it out, and will aim to be the home ground for more than privacy-coin projects by employing ZK smart contracts. 

Nevertheless, the new blockchain network will have a backdoor allowing regulators and auditors to probe its data if granted permission. Although no further details are shared on how exactly these permissions will be granted and who will be safeguarding users’ privacy, Charles Hoskinson sees Midnight as being able to satisfy both consumers’ demand for privacy and regulators’ thirst for control, as the backdoor access will allow them to ensure financial crimes aren’t facilitated by the network, while users’ privacy will be guaranteed by the blockchain’s technology. 

According to Hoskinson, the new project has generated interest in the field of enterprise blockchains, announcing that Midnight will be working with the Hyperledger Foundation – a consortium of large companies, such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, American Express, Lenovo, Siemens, and many others, exploring private ledgers for traditional business practices, such as supply-chain management.

Furthermore, Midnight will take on the foundations built by a paper published in 2021 by IOG and titled “Kachina – Foundations of Private Smart Contracts” which proposes a unified security model for private smart contracts based on the Universal Composition model for analysis of cryptographic protocols. 

Author:

Frank Stewskid

Frank Stewskid

Last updated: Nov 21, 2022

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