EKMH Innovators Interview Series
A new interview series spotlighting global tech influencers, disruptors, visionaries, and of course, innovators.
Last week Elixxir launched its Elixxir Early Access Developer Program, offering third-party developers an opportunity to build on the Elixxir protocol. Developers can go here and submit a proposal for the early access developer program with developer access opening with the AlphaNet release in late summer. If selected, the developer can build on Elixxir’s public AlphaNet.
The AlphaNet will reportedly be the first-ever public test of the cMix protocol as supported by a team of partner nodes. Alongside the developer program, Elixxir will also launch and test metadata-resistant messenger functionality on the platform. Through the AlphaNet, developers may build both traditional and distributed applications which communicate, discover and operate securely and anonymously through the cMix protocol. Developers will use the Elixxir Arrow SDK to integrate metadata-protected communications in anything they can build.
Written in Golang and portable across a variety of platforms and operating systems, ArrowSDK will serve as the platform’s interface for all developers; the SDK will be updated as Elixxir moves from AlphaNet to BetaNet and then to MainNet. According to the platform, Elixxer will support secure messaging, payments and decentralized application (dApp) data transfer.
I recently caught up with Elixxir Founder and CEO David Chaum via email to learn more about his vision for the metadata-protecting blockchain platform, privacy-preserving tech, sector predictions and advice for fintech and crypto newcomers. Our interview follows:
EKMH: How have your past experiences led to your current vision for this new platform?
David Chaum: Elixxir is a direct extension of what I have been working on since the early 1980s - enabling real privacy in an increasingly digital future. Applying updated cryptography to my original vault system paper which proposed the blockchain in 1982, blind signatures, mix networks, and eCash all feeds the development of Elixxir as a blockchain platform designed from the ground up for the needs of the mass consumer.
EKMH: Who do you consider Elixxir’s rivals? How does Elixxir aim to outperform and mix up its sector?
David Chaum: Many others have attempted full-stack blockchains that protect user privacy, but all of them have had to make compromises. Elixxir is the first platform to truly deliver speed, privacy, security, and scale. Other full-stack blockchain platforms exist, but they either do not adequately protect consumer privacy or are not built to scale to consumer needs. Elixxir is the first platform to deliver the speed, privacy, security, and scale required for mainstream adoption.
EKMH: How does speed become critical to the success of privacy-preserving technologies?
David Chaum: It’s difficult to ask the general public to sacrifice convenience for privacy and security. Because current platforms are not inherently scalable enough to facilitate mainstream use, dApps on those platforms appeal to hobbyists willing to sacrifice utility to try something new. Elixxir has been designed to support the mainstream public's desire for privacy and security while also meeting their more tangible needs of convenience and speed.
EKMH: How does Elixxer address privacy issues?
David Chaum: Elixxir uses cMix, a breakthrough in my original mix networks protocols, which secures the anonymity & metadata protection of mix networks without the latency. Mixnodes perform the work of decrypting messages and mixing traffic to hide the associations between senders and recipients, both in messaging and in payments. This results in a completely private platform for transactions between consumers, businesses, and dApps.
EKMH: What problems has Elixxir faced prior to its launch that led to the strengthening of the platform?
David Chaum: The development of truly groundbreaking technologies is never easy, but luckily a lot of this work are direct extensions of what I have been working on for over 30 years.
EKMH: Please share your vision for digital currency and how it has changed over the last decades. Which of your early predictions have come to fruition?
David Chaum: My vision for digital currency has always been an anonymous digital cash which allows consumers to transact online with the same privacy the would have offline. This was the goal with DigiCash, but at the time personal computers weren't powerful enough to support a completely distributed system so it had to be routed through bank servers (the strongest at the time). The thing about privacy, is you either have it or you don't. There is no middle ground. 3rd parties either have your information or they don't. I predicted that if we allowed 3rd parties to own and aggregate that data, it would be insecurely stored, used to influence media consumption (algorithms), exploited to influence election integrity and more.
EKMH: Where is crypto going now? Where do you see future growth opportunities?
David Chaum: There’s a growing public awareness of and concern for digital privacy. The blockchain community in general and Elixxir in particular is well-positioned to respond to this concern as more scalable platforms emerge with robust dApp ecosystems that don't require the current sacrifice of convenience. In addition, we see growth opportunities in enterprise and B2B blockchain solutions, as companies adopt new technologies to address information security and liability from data breaches.
EKMH: What is your role as the “Godfather of Crypto”?
David Chaum: I’ve always viewed that moniker as the result of my work, not an active role I play. I've been working in this field or work for a long time, before you could really call it a field. My dissertation at Cal proposed every element the blockchain found in Bitcoin except proof-of-work (complete with the code to implement it), my 1982 paper "Security without Identification" laid out a future for protecting consumer privacy on the internet before the Internet existed, and I developed the first digital currency with my company DigiCash in the '90s.
EKMH: It’s graduation season: what advice do you have for those considering fintech and crypto?
David Chaum: I’d advise young people who are deciding what to commit themselves to and how to move forward to be careful about listening to older people that represent entrenched institutions and feel they know what's coming. In the very early '80s, people told me not to study computer science because there really wouldn't be much happening in that field (true story!)