NuLink (NLK): Ultimate On-Chain Privacy Solution for DApps
As blockchain systems are being increasingly adopted for a variety of use cases in the business world and the amount of on-chain data transfers grows, issues of data security and privacy become critical. In the past few years, along with the growth and maturation of the blockchain industry we've witnessed an increase in security breach attempts, both unsuccessful and, sadly, those that have led to significant loss of both value and privacy. In 2023, cybercriminals stole at least $1.7 billion from crypto platforms.
These disturbing stats only cover direct financial losses β the crypto funds snatched away from blockchains or decentralized apps (DApps). However, in addition to these immediate losses, the business operations of DApps also experience loss of trust from customers and degradation in operational capacity.
NuLink (NLK) is a decentralized protocol that aims to address security and privacy issues on blockchains by providing advanced solutions for secure data storage and sharing. This Ethereum-based platform offers DApps the ability to protect their stored or transferred data using security and privacy technologies, such as zero-knowledge proofs.
Key Takeaways:
NuLink is an Ethereum-based protocol whose advanced data encryption techniques help DApp operators and developers secure their data exchanges and computations.
NuLink's product and service line is mainly based on the utilization of four encryption technologies β ZK proofs, public key encryption schemes, proxy re-encryption and fully homomorphic encryption.
NuLink's native token, NLK, is an ERC-20 token that powers the NuLink ecosystem and can be bought on Bybit as a Spot pair.
What Is NuLink?
NuLink (NLK) is a decentralized data privacy protocol on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain that provides cutting-edge data encryption services to DApps via application programming interfaces (APIs). Using NuLink, DApp operators can protect shared or stored data from security and privacy breaches.
NuLink offers various security- and privacy-focused products, most of which utilize three data encryption technologies: zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, proxy re-encryption and fully homomorphic encryption.
NuLink's on-chain data and communication protection services are applicable to virtually any DApp for which safeguarding data against hacks or unauthorized access is essential. Its technology offers versatile benefits across various scenarios, including encrypting non-fungible tokens (NFTs), launching privacy-preserving social media and SocialFi apps, decentralized digital rights and intellectual property (IP) protection, and confidential sharing of information on health records.
Founded in 2021 by Daniel Nilsson and Noel Braganza, NuLink is based in Sweden. As of May 2024, the blockchain startup has raised over $11 million in venture capital and is backed by a group of institutional investors, including some prominent industry names, such as DWF Labs, Maven Capital and Binance Labs.
How Does NuLink Work?
Core Technologies
At the core of NuLink's offerings are four encrypted data technologies that power secure data sharing, storage and computations β ZK proofs, public key encryption schemes, proxy re-encryption and fully homomorphic encryption.
ZK proofs are widely used in the blockchain industry, and are probably the most familiar of the abovementioned technologies to nontechnical crypto audiences. These cryptographic proofs allow one party (the prover) to demonstrate to another party (the verifier) that certain information is true β without revealing the actual confidentiality-based encryptions of the message being validated.
The public key encryption schemes designed to control access rights and enhance data-sharing functionality are split into identity-based encryption and attribute-based encryption. Identity-based encryption directly ties user identity to their public key, similar to an email system where knowing the recipient's identity ensures that only they can decrypt messages. Attribute-based encryption expands on this by offering a wider array of attributes and policies.
Proxy re-encryption is a technology that allows intermediary parties involved in data transfers and proxies to alter the data encrypted by the sender so that the receiver can decrypt it. Finally, fully homomorphic encryption allows encrypted data to be used without needing to decrypt it with a private key. This contrasts with most other data encryption techniques, which are based on decrypting data before it can be utilized for a specifically designated use case.
These four main cryptographic technologies used by NuLink power the platform's capabilities regarding sensitive user data sharing, cryptographic access control, privacy-preserving data sharing and more.
NuLink Architecture
In terms of its architecture, NuLinkβs system comprises five layers: Application, Cryptograph, Storage, Blockchain and Watcher Network.
The Application Layer is the topmost layer on NuLink. It's abstracted from the underlying layers in order to provide both a user interface and controls for accessing the platform's services. This layer directly interacts with the Cryptograph Layer to manage private data access authorizations. The Cryptograph Layer is a critical component that handles the processes of data encryption, decryption and key generation.
Beneath the Cryptograph Layer is the Storage Layer, which manages the decentralized storage of the data encrypted and decrypted by the Cryptograph Layer. The Storage Layer utilizes the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) network to store and retrieve data. The NuLink project team also has future plans to introduce other distributed storage solutions, such as Amazon S3 and Swarm.
The next layer, the Blockchain Layer, is made up of Ethereum-based NuLink nodes that power the network's encrypted data services. These include several specialized functional node types, as covered in the next section.
The last layer, the Watcher Network, is made up of relayer nodes, which are responsible for supporting cross-chain data communications.
Network Actors
NuLink's node operations involve several network actor types, categorized into two groups: Providers and Users. Providers include proxies, computing providers, storage providers and watchers that support the network's functionality, while the Users β data consumers and data providers β leverage NuLink to securely share and store data.
Proxy nodes and computing provider nodes enable NuLink's re-encryption and homomorphic encryption services, respectively. Watchers, as noted earlier, are the nodes responsible for cross-chain communications and updates. Their key role is to pass updated information from NuLink's Ethereum-based smart contracts to other chains, such as Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT) and Near (NEAR). Storage providers are the nodes that facilitate decentralized data storage on the platform.
The two User node types, data consumers and data providers, interact on the network to securely exchange and utilize encrypted data.
NuLink's Privacy Solutions
Data Availability (DA)
Consumers of encrypted on-chain data face two primary issues with regard to data availability. First, they need to ensure that their supplier has the required data before buying it. Secondly, they need to ascertain that the encrypted data is valid. NuLink addresses both of these issues by using ZK technology. Data providers on the NuLink platform need to submit ZK proofs, which are validated on the network without any need for the providers to reveal all of the details and contents of their datasets.
ZK proofs protect both sides of the encrypted data transaction. For data consumers, they provide assurance of the integrity and validity of the supplied data. In turn, for data providers, the ZK-proof technology used by NuLink is a secure way to trade their data while protecting it from unauthorized access and public exposure.
Data Sharing
Secure, private data sharing is supported on NuLink via proxy re-encryption technology. Proxy nodes, the primary entities responsible for these exchanges, accept the already encrypted data from the data provider and re-encrypt it before making it available to the data consumer. The re-encryption process protects the shared data to a much higher degree than ordinary encrypted data transfers that don't utilize re-encryption.
Data Computing
While proxy re-encryption is mainly used for data transfers, data computation tasks are supported by NuLink's homomorphic encryption services, which allow a dataset to be utilized without needing to decrypt it with a private key. This is useful for cases in which data providers need to make their datasets available to consumers on a per-use or rented basis. Typical scenarios include using data for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) model computations, or for predictive model scoring. In such situations, data consumers are less interested in buying the dataset outright and usually need temporary access.
NuLink Products
NuLink Staking Dashboard
NuLink users can stake the platform's native cryptocurrency, NLK, to earn rewards. Staking NLK as collateral is also a requirement for the functional node types β proxies, computing providers, watchers and storage providers. Users can manage their staking operations through the Staking Dashboard, a web app that provides a user-friendly interface to all of the key NuLink staking procedures. The dashboard enables users to stake and unstake funds, bond funds to other nodes, monitor their performance and track rewards.
NuLink For Developers
For developers venturing into privacy-preserving DApp development, NuLink offers two primary tools: the NuLink Agent-SDK and the NuLink SDK. The NuLink Agent-SDK is tailored for newcomers to the NuLink network. It facilitates direct communication between DApps and the NuLink Agent, enabling seamless integration into their projects. On the other hand, the NuLink SDK caters to developers with a deeper understanding of the NuLink network.
NuLink Agent For Users
NuLink Agent is a versatile web-based digital wallet for users that ensures smooth communication between DApps and the NuLink network. It serves as a secure intermediary with robust endpoint encryption, and safe storage and data sharing.
NuLink Runes
NuLink Runes is a secure protocol for creating and managing Ethereum virtual machine (EVM)-compatible Runes assets. The original Runes protocol emerged in April 2024 on Bitcoin (BTC). It facilitates the efficient issuance and management of fungible cryptocurrencies on the world's oldest blockchain. However, Runes assets are largely confined to the Bitcoin ecosystem, and these tokens aren't supported on EVM-compatible chains. NuLink's Runes product is among the earliest initiatives to bring Runes technology to an EVM environment.
NuLink Runes features a high degree of editability, meaning that issuers can easily modify and personalize their assets. And, in line with NuLink's core competencies, the protocol boasts excellent security and privacy features.
What Is the NuLink Token (NLK)?
NuLink's native cryptocurrency is NLK, an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum. NLK's main functions on the platform include the following.
Serves as collateral:Functional nodes β proxies, computing providers, watchers and storage providers β post collateral in NLK to join the network and offer their services.
Node rewards: These functional nodes receive rewards in NLK in exchange for providing their services.
Staking:Users can stake NLK to earn rewards.
Fee payments:User nodes pay in NLK to access the platform's encrypted data sharing, as well as computation products and services.
Governance:NLK token holders are entitled to participate in the platform's governance via the NuLink DAO. Each holder's voting weight is determined by the amount of NLK they hold.
NLK was launched on May 16, 2024, with a total and maximum supply of 1 billion. The entire supply will be released over the course of four years, starting from the May 2024 token generation event (TGE). After these four years, the user community will vote via the DAO concerning further supply rules. As such, it's possible that more NLK might be minted following the complete release of the 1 billion total supply.
Where to Buy the NuLink Token (NLK)
The NLK token is available on Bybit's Spot market (NLK/USDT). From May 16β30, 2024, you can also take advantage of Bybit's campaigns dedicated to the token for the chance to grab a share of the 700,000 NLK prize pool.
Closing Thoughts
Data privacy and security are becoming increasingly important as the volume of on-chain value exchanges rises. At the same time, hacking attempts and data breaches are growing at an alarming rate. It's evident by now that simply relying on blockchain's built-in cryptographic security features is no longer sufficient β at least when it comes to ensuring the functionality of DApps handling sensitive data and computations.
While there are quite a few decentralized protocols dedicated to improving the security of blockchain data exchanges, NuLink takes the security game to an entirely new level, applying advanced cryptographic technologies that set it apart among data exchange protocols. As the industry matures and the need to protect on-chain data exchanges and computations becomes more evident, NuLink's services will undoubtedly be appreciated and adopted by an increasing number of DApp operators.
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