Why Wash Your Crypto Linen in Public When There’s DOP?
It’s been a minute dear Medium family.
As a wake up call to myself and as an apology, I know I have been slacking.
Was aiming for one article per week but I’ve been a bit overwhelmed the past couple of weeks.
I plan to do better, do bear with me.
I come bearing gifts, this solution is actually for end users (regular people, non-techies like you and I).
Let’s jump right in!
Blockchain’s design is awesome: transparency (every transaction is publicly visible), immutability (transaction records can’t be edited), and anonymity (records are distinguished using hashes and a public key, no personal data involved); Let’s not forget security, which is an inherent benefit of decentralized networks.
Notwithstanding, these characteristics may prove to be a little too much for people who prioritize privacy. To better understand this, suppose your bank displays an enlarged copy of your bank statement for the year as a publicity stunt or due to an incredulous mistake, how would you feel?
How comfortable would you be, knowing that your bank records are now public information? You might be embarrassed, assuming you’re very broke; or you would be afraid for your safety, if you had like 10 million dollars or more.
Regardless of which side of the divide you fall into, It’s bound to be a harrowing experience.
This scenario is what blockchain users are exposed to, by default. I would have argued that it isn’t a problem due to anonymity, but that wouldn’t be entirely true.
To drive home my point, I actually experimented with solscan.io while preparing to write this.
If you click on any random transaction hash and find the address, you would be able to see a comprehensive breakdown of the wallet’s holdings in their entirety.
Now, chances are slim that you’d actually know the owner of the address, but if you had the wallet address of a friend, colleague or business that you have transacted with in the past, you could actually do the exact same thing, except this time — you know the actual owner!
DOP — short for Data Ownership Protocol, has engineered what they believe is a solution to this.
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, it enables the control of data by users of the protocol, offering the ability to conceal, partially or completely, the state of a user’s account at any given time.
A user can elect to only display their transaction data with a select group of individuals or entities, all while enjoying the benefits of blockchain technology as normal.
For example, if I wanted to sell an NFT over the counter (OTC) and I desired a situation where the potential buyer could only see that NFT and not my entire collection — for privacy purposes, DOP would make that possible.
Also, since transactions using DOP never actually make it to the ETH blockchain, the blockchain can have no record of it.
DOP does use smart contracts, so users can be rest assured that their assets will not go missing or get confiscated due to the high privacy associated with the network.
DOP’s services can be accessed using existing wallet technology, preventing the hassle associated with learning new technologies and significantly shortening the onboarding process.
DOP Protocol hopes to remove the inconvenience of maintaining multiple wallets due to privacy concerns by offering a service that enables a business or individual to simply click a button and cause their asset balance to “disappear”, protecting their interests and helping them avoid getting on a hacker’s radar by virtue of the size of their cryptocurrency holdings.
DOP uses ZKP technology, which I have loved ever since I understood it.
The product is innovative no doubt, but it requires users to forfeit the freedom of direct person-to-person transactions, bringing back the middle man (DOP facilitates asset transfers so that your wallet remains hidden). I guess it’s a fair trade-off, all things considered.
Read up more about DOP here. Click where it says “Whitepaper” on the website header.
You’ll also find more information about the project as you scroll downwards on the website.
Check me out on twitter (X) for more cryptocurrency and web3 related stuff https://twitter.com/ikwuntheweb3guy.