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:

• Aleo’s Proof of Useful Work Grant rewards developers enabling Aleo credits as bounties with Leo Program

• Aztec releases Sandbox v0.13.1, a local developer testnet for smart contract privacy

• Share Protocol integrates with MetaMask for access to private DeFi on Secret Network

• Nym set to launch decentralized VPN routing user traffic

• Brave Browser introduces privacy-respecting AI assistant Leo, now on desktop

• Brave v1.60 on Android adds Widevine support for DRM-protected streaming content

• Carbon Browser to launch on iOS

Op-Ed:

• Wired examines the ongoing privacy struggle in social media

• Kamala Harris urges immediate action against AI threats to democracy and privacy

Zooming into ZK:

• ChainLight discovers $1.9b vulnerability in zkSync Era

• Derivio, decentralized derivatives exchange, launches Mainnet on zkSync Era

• Scroll integrates Chainlink data feeds

• Nil Foundation to introduce Ethereum's first ZK rollup enabling sharding

• Near Foundation partners with Polygon to build zkWASM for enhanced interoperability across chains

Conversations you missed:

• Nym and Avalanche explore state of privacy

• CEO of Aztec Labs discusses ZK with Antalpha Labs

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

Leo, the native AI assistant developed by Brave to safeguard user privacy, is now available to use for free for all desktop users. All requests to Leo are routed through an anonymous server, and cannot be traced back to a particular IP. No login information is required to use the chatbot, and conversations are not recorded or used to train AI models.

This week, blockchain security audit firm ChainLight reported a vulnerability in the zkSync Era mainnet, that if exploited, would have exposed $1.9 billion to risk. The soundness bug would have allowed a malicious party to produce otherwise incorrect proofs that the L1 verifier contract would accept as valid.

Nym is set to launch a decentralized VPN, NymVPN, that routes web traffic through two decentralized nodes. This “two-hop” structure encrypts and directs user traffic to one server (the first hop), then to a second server (the second hop), and finally to its destination on the internet. This adds an extra layer of privacy by making it challenging for malicious attacks to track both the source and destination of user traffic, in contrast to conventional VPNs that rely on a single central server.

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:

• Aleo’s Proof of Useful Work Grant rewards developers enabling Aleo credits as bounties with Leo Program

• Aztec releases Sandbox v0.13.1, a local developer testnet for smart contract privacy

• Share Protocol integrates with MetaMask for access to private DeFi on Secret Network

• Nym set to launch decentralized VPN routing user traffic

• Brave Browser introduces privacy-respecting AI assistant Leo, now on desktop

• Brave v1.60 on Android adds Widevine support for DRM-protected streaming content

• Carbon Browser to launch on iOS

Op-Ed:

• Wired examines the ongoing privacy struggle in social media

• Kamala Harris urges immediate action against AI threats to democracy and privacy

Zooming into ZK:

• ChainLight discovers $1.9b vulnerability in zkSync Era

• Derivio, decentralized derivatives exchange, launches Mainnet on zkSync Era

• Scroll integrates Chainlink data feeds

• Nil Foundation to introduce Ethereum's first ZK rollup enabling sharding

• Near Foundation partners with Polygon to build zkWASM for enhanced interoperability across chains

Conversations you missed:

• Nym and Avalanche explore state of privacy

• CEO of Aztec Labs discusses ZK with Antalpha Labs

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

Leo, the native AI assistant developed by Brave to safeguard user privacy, is now available to use for free for all desktop users. All requests to Leo are routed through an anonymous server, and cannot be traced back to a particular IP. No login information is required to use the chatbot, and conversations are not recorded or used to train AI models.

This week, blockchain security audit firm ChainLight reported a vulnerability in the zkSync Era mainnet, that if exploited, would have exposed $1.9 billion to risk. The soundness bug would have allowed a malicious party to produce otherwise incorrect proofs that the L1 verifier contract would accept as valid.

Nym is set to launch a decentralized VPN, NymVPN, that routes web traffic through two decentralized nodes. This “two-hop” structure encrypts and directs user traffic to one server (the first hop), then to a second server (the second hop), and finally to its destination on the internet. This adds an extra layer of privacy by making it challenging for malicious attacks to track both the source and destination of user traffic, in contrast to conventional VPNs that rely on a single central server.

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.