This Binance-Backed Crypto Startup Wants to Anonymize Everything

That's how lead developer David Stainton introduced the mixing tech that powers Nym Technologies, a stealth anonymity startup that sports a roster of privacy activists and cryptography heavyweights from around the world.

An open infrastructure based on a near-forgotten anonymity system named mix networks, Nym is now entering the proof-of-concept phase following a 10-week incubation program with Binance Labs.

The goal of the project? According to Harry Halpin - an advisor to Nym precursor Panoramix - the objective is "To anonymize the world."

Showcasing the new technology is a proof-of-concept cryptocurrency wallet built by bitcoin developer and revolutionary Amir Taaki - what he calls "Darkwallet 2.0," named after privacy-preserving bitcoin wallet he built in 2014 that shares the same name.

That's notable because, while existing privacy-centric cryptocurrencies like monero and zcash hide transactions on the blockchain itself, the method still reveals information at the network level.

While the pursuit of Nym Technologies is wide in scope, the first step of the project is to design a cryptocurrency wallet that can offer network level anonymity for privacy-centric cryptocurrencies.

Mix networks solve this by obscuring information about who is sending to who, which will remain unlinkable even if an adversary is observing all corners of the network.

Taaki's Darkwallet showcases that mix networks can be leveraged for cryptocurrencies to achieve more robust anonymity - even against a global adversary - something that Halpin calls the "Cypherpunk dream."

Originally deployed for email services, mix networks work by shuffling information within a system so that by the time it exits, it is unmatchable with the information that was entered.

Going forward, Nym Technologies hopes to build all the essential building blocks that are needed for different parties to interact in a privacy-respecting manner on a network.