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Input Output Global Inc. (IOG), the firm behind the Cardano blockchain, is releasing a new data-protection and privacy-centric blockchain and accompanying token, company chief executive officer Charles Hoskinson announced at an event at Edinburgh University in Scotland on Friday.
Fast facts
- Dubbed “Midnight,” the blockchain is one of the side-chains running off Cardano and will offer zero-knowledge-proof smart contracts, which allow parties to complete transactions without disclosing any identifying data to each other. The accompanying token will be called “Dust.”
- Hoskinson said the blockchain will balance users’ privacy while still allowing authorities access to the system if permission is granted.
- Referencing existing privacy-centric blockchains Zcash and Monero, Hoskinson said that Midnight will be built in a more widely accepted programming language to allow a broader range of developers to build on the network.
- Midnight is still under development and IOG said that it will continue to provide updates as they work on it into 2023.
- Emurgo Pte. Ltd., one of the founding entities behind Cardano, also announced on Friday the first fiat-backed stablecoin on the network, USDA, which will launch in the first quarter of 2023.
- Hoskinson also announced the Edinburgh Decentralization Index in a video ahead of his visit which he said will begin to measure the decentralization of cryptocurrencies in light of the contagion from the collapse of FTX.com.
- ADA, the native token of Cardano, fell by 8.2% to US$0.30 in the 24 hours to 11:10 a.m. after posting mild gains over the course of the weekend following Friday’s event.