gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Kraken complies with court order to share data of 42,000 users with IRS, raising privacy concerns

• MetaMask rolls out a new feature with Blockaid to enhance user protection against scams, phishing attempts and hacking events

• Shade Protocol reveals 2024 roadmap, envisions providing private decentralized banking for all

• Secret Network plans to launch Privacy-as-a-Service dApps on EVM as part of its 2024 roadmap

• Brave Browser reportedly installs VPN services on Windows devices without user consent

• Telegram, touted as a ‘secure’ and ‘private’ messaging app, discloses user IP addresses to contacts

• Google Chrome’s new ‘IP Protection’ feature to enhance users’ privacy by masking their IP addresses using proxy servers

• Near integrates Nym’s data privacy and encryption services for enhanced user and dApp security

Op-Ed:

• Forbes releases article discussing the challenges of achieving absolute privacy in Web3

Zooming into ZK:

• Aztec Labs releases Noir v0.17.0 upgrade and NoirJS, empowering developers to create robust private-focused ZK applications

• zkDay Istanbul happening on 13 Nov, to unite zero knowledge-focused community

• zkSync Era launches block explorer API for developers to access data directly via HTTP requests

  Polyhedra integrates zkBridge with Arbitrum for secure and efficient interoperability in Layer-2 optimistic roll-ups

• Toposware, ZK specialist, announces $5m funding round

• Modulus Labs secures $6m in seed funding, uses ZK Machine Learning (ZKML) in validating AI model execution

Conversations you missed:

• Zym dives into upcoming NymVPN and the anonymous payment technology behind it

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

MetaMask is rolling out Privacy Preserving Offline Module (PPOM), security alerts to prevent malicious transactions. Desktop users can already opt-in under experimental settings, with the feature available to mobile users later in November. PPOM works as an offline security engine that simulates transactions and signatures to determine if they are malicious before the user signs them, with communication with the blockchain happening through the user-selected node provider.

While external, third-party infrastructure providers regularly collect and store user data when you interact with them, 1RPC is a privacy-protecting relay with transaction sanitizers that prevent phishing attempts and fraudulent activity. The relay is native to the Web3 ecosystem and offers one-click support for a wide range of chains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polkadot and more.

Near, a Layer-1 blockchain, is set to integrate Nym Technologies' data privacy and encryption services to offer end-to-end encryption and metadata privacy across its ecosystem. The encryption of off-chain metadata traffic thwarts the efforts of malicious actors attempting to compromise user privacy by de-anonymizing their IP addresses.

Polyhedra has recently unveiled zkBridge to enable smooth cross-chain communication and asset transfer on the Arbitrum platform. Based on its own proof system, deVirgo, Polyhedra introduces a decentralized auxiliary validation network to serve as an external group tasked with validating the state of Arbitrum. This replicates the fraud-proof process on the Layer 2 scaling solution, with security guarantees that are reportedly of the same levels as Arbitrum’s 1 week dispute window.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.

gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Kraken complies with court order to share data of 42,000 users with IRS, raising privacy concerns

• MetaMask rolls out a new feature with Blockaid to enhance user protection against scams, phishing attempts and hacking events

• Shade Protocol reveals 2024 roadmap, envisions providing private decentralized banking for all

• Secret Network plans to launch Privacy-as-a-Service dApps on EVM as part of its 2024 roadmap

• Brave Browser reportedly installs VPN services on Windows devices without user consent

• Telegram, touted as a ‘secure’ and ‘private’ messaging app, discloses user IP addresses to contacts

• Google Chrome’s new ‘IP Protection’ feature to enhance users’ privacy by masking their IP addresses using proxy servers

• Near integrates Nym’s data privacy and encryption services for enhanced user and dApp security

Op-Ed:

• Forbes releases article discussing the challenges of achieving absolute privacy in Web3

Zooming into ZK:

• Aztec Labs releases Noir v0.17.0 upgrade and NoirJS, empowering developers to create robust private-focused ZK applications

• zkDay Istanbul happening on 13 Nov, to unite zero knowledge-focused community

• zkSync Era launches block explorer API for developers to access data directly via HTTP requests

  Polyhedra integrates zkBridge with Arbitrum for secure and efficient interoperability in Layer-2 optimistic roll-ups

• Toposware, ZK specialist, announces $5m funding round

• Modulus Labs secures $6m in seed funding, uses ZK Machine Learning (ZKML) in validating AI model execution

Conversations you missed:

• Zym dives into upcoming NymVPN and the anonymous payment technology behind it

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

MetaMask is rolling out Privacy Preserving Offline Module (PPOM), security alerts to prevent malicious transactions. Desktop users can already opt-in under experimental settings, with the feature available to mobile users later in November. PPOM works as an offline security engine that simulates transactions and signatures to determine if they are malicious before the user signs them, with communication with the blockchain happening through the user-selected node provider.

While external, third-party infrastructure providers regularly collect and store user data when you interact with them, 1RPC is a privacy-protecting relay with transaction sanitizers that prevent phishing attempts and fraudulent activity. The relay is native to the Web3 ecosystem and offers one-click support for a wide range of chains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polkadot and more.

Near, a Layer-1 blockchain, is set to integrate Nym Technologies' data privacy and encryption services to offer end-to-end encryption and metadata privacy across its ecosystem. The encryption of off-chain metadata traffic thwarts the efforts of malicious actors attempting to compromise user privacy by de-anonymizing their IP addresses.

Polyhedra has recently unveiled zkBridge to enable smooth cross-chain communication and asset transfer on the Arbitrum platform. Based on its own proof system, deVirgo, Polyhedra introduces a decentralized auxiliary validation network to serve as an external group tasked with validating the state of Arbitrum. This replicates the fraud-proof process on the Layer 2 scaling solution, with security guarantees that are reportedly of the same levels as Arbitrum’s 1 week dispute window.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.