Let's dive into it 👇🏻

Blockchain's transparency is a strength, but when it comes to smart contracts, this feature raises a dilemma:

How can we keep sensitive smart contract details confidential?

Smart contracts on blockchains, as you probably know, are like open books - anyone can read them. This exposure risks leaking personal data, trade secrets, and strategic moves.

A real concern for businesses!

In blockchain, enhancing privacy often means sacrificing scalability. More private solutions can slow down the network, making it a tough balancing act for developers.

That's why technologies like Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Homomorphic Encryption joined the market - promising to keep smart contracts confidential without losing blockchain's essence.

Fhenix.IO Solution

Now we won't get lost on ZKPs, in fact I want to focus on so-called Fully Homorphic Encryption (FHE). The novelty brought by @FhenixIO in the first place.

FHE employes an optimistic rollup, a type of Layer 2 scaling solution for blockchains. Which means that it operates under the assumption that transactions are valid unless proven otherwise.

Avoiding significant computational penalties associated with verifiable FHE techniques. Which tends to overload the system compared to traditional plaintext computation.

Optimistic rollups are thus not just a solution but a necessity for FHE in blockchain environments​​.

What are the advantages over ZK-based rollups?

• Simplicity and Compatibility

• Lower Computational Overhead

• Developer Friendly

• Cost Efficient

Fhenix framework integrates Ethereum, enhancing his ecosystem significantly while maintaining the integrity of its base layer. How?

• Cryptoeconomic Solution → it addresses the challenge of arbitrating non-EVM native fraud proofs.

Without necessitating any modifications to Ethereum's base layer, preserving EVM's structure and functionality.

• Optimistic FHE Rollups → as I have already explained, this type of rollup is used to ensure greater efficiency and scalability for smart contracts.

• Scalability and Security → thanks to the optimistic rollup approach they can scale without congesting the Ethereum Layer 1.

They achieve this by executing transactions outside the primary chain and posting back state updates along with proofs of correct execution.

• Efficiency in Handling Confidential Data → the strongest point of Fhenix, that thanks to the L2 Rollup structure improves the efficiency of executing transactions and managing confidential data on-chain.

What makes Fhenix.io's approach unique?

Traditional methods require FHE to be replicated across all nodes in a blockchain network. So how does Fhenix do?👇🏻

Fhenix.io's structure avoids this, reducing the computational cost and making the solution more efficient and practical.

While the approach is specifically tailored for the EVM, it holds independent value as a system that enables verifiable FHE.

This focus ensures that the solution is not only efficient but also highly relevant and adaptable to the most widely used blockchain ecosystem.

The architecture of the FHE rollup system, including its various components and layers, is designed to enhance efficiency through his innovative approach, that also contributes to the development of a new wave of privacy-centric dapps.

This is made possible by enhancing user confidence, expanding potential use cases, and increasing the overall security and utility in the EVM ecosystem.

The Architecture

💻 𝐟𝐡𝐞𝐎𝐒

It acts as the core engine of the Fhenix nodes, empowering smart contracts with robust encryption capabilities. When these contracts require encrypted computations, they seamlessly integrate with the fheOS precompiles, which are tailored for Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) operations.

fheOS's design ensures full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), bridging the gap between advanced encryption technologies and existing Ethereum-based applications.

The fheOS library, therefore, stands as a testament to Fhenix.io's commitment to enhancing blockchain privacy and security, offering a comprehensive suite of encrypted operations (like arithmetic operations i.e. addition, multiplication and number comparisons) essential for the next generation of smart contracts.

👨‍💻 𝐠𝐨-𝐭𝐟𝐡𝐞

It serves as a bridge between the Rust-based core FHE mathematical operations library (tfhe-rs) and blockchain applications, especially those written in Go.

This integration is achieved through a Go-based API, designed specifically for executing complex FHE mathematical operations. Additionally, a specialized Rust wrapper adapts the TFHE.rs library for seamless use in blockchain contexts.

This strategic amalgamation significantly enhances Ethereum's go-ethereum (geth) capabilities, paving the way for more advanced and secure smart contract applications.

🌐 𝐓𝐍𝐒 (Threshold Services Network)

TSN operates as a distinct network layer, separate from the L1 blockchain or other rollup components. A vital separation for its functionality and security. It gives smart contracts running on the network the ability to utilize FHE primitives.

This means dapps using Fhenix can integrate encrypted data directly into their smart contract logic. It manages a secret-shared network key. This network key is essential for threshold decryption processes.

Central to TSN's operation is the management of a secret-shared network key. Unlike traditional systems where a single entity might hold a key, this network key is collectively entrusted to the TSN, a design choice that bolsters security.

Fhenix.io innovatively employs Shamir's secret-sharing method in this context. This method involves dividing the key into multiple parts, or 'shares.' To reconstruct the key, a predetermined number of these shares (n + 1) are required, ensuring that no single entity can unilaterally access the key.

Crucially, TSN oversees the threshold decryption and re-encryption processes. This ability is pivotal in safeguarding the confidentiality of data, while still allowing it to be effectively processed and utilized within smart contracts. Such a mechanism ensures that while data remains private and secure, its utility in smart contracts is not hindered

🦹 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦

At the heart of optimistic rollups is the fraud proofs mechanism, ensuring transaction integrity on blockchain networks.

This mechanism becomes particularly vital when dealing with encrypted data in smart contracts, such as those facilitated by Fhenix.io. Fhenix.io empowers users to independently re-run and verify transactions off-chain, ensuring their accuracy. If discrepancies are detected, what's the next step?

Users can submit a fraud-proof directly on-chain, where Ethereum serves as the ultimate arbiter, ensuring fairness and rectitude. This vigilant process is crucial for upholding the pillars of trust and security in the blockchain ecosystem.

Fraud proofs are essential for accurate state updates. The system's design ensures chain integrity, even amid malicious attempts to alter transactions.

Fhenix utilizes Arbitrum’s Nitro fraud prover, cleverly adapting FHE logic to WebAssembly. System that, surprisingly, hasn't seen any fraud proof submissions since its mainnet launch in August 2021 according to Cointelegraph (at least until Sept 11th).

This innovative move allows Fhenix.io to seamlessly integrate its cryptographic smart contracts into the Ethereum ecosystem.

Who's behind Fhenix.IO?

Guy Zyskind, the founder and a pivotal figure in the blockchain industry. Zyskind combines deep technical expertise with a visionary approach to blockchain technology. His entrepreneurial spirit is further exemplified through his role as the founder of SCRT Labs, a company dedicated to advancing decentralized technologies. Known for Secret Network, a protocol that offers scalable permissionless smart contracts. Some of the projects built on it are: Tarantino NFTs, Secret Bridge, Sienna Network and Shade Protocol.

Joining him in this venture is Guy Itzhaki, has a strong blend of technical acumen and leadership. Itzhaki's experience in software development (worked at Intel Corp. for +7 years) and management positions him as a key asset in driving Fhenix's innovative solutions.

Final Thoughts

The recent acquisition of $7 million in funding by Fhenix is a resounding affirmation of the burgeoning interest and investment in the realm of blockchain privacy solutions. This influx of capital not only underscores the faith investors place in Fhenix's innovative technology but also reflects a broader industry recognition of the critical need for enhanced privacy in blockchain applications.

In a world where privacy concerns are increasingly paramount, particularly in various industries and for individuals alike, Fhenix stands at the forefront of addressing these challenges. Their approach uniquely balances the imperatives of security and data protection with the fundamental principles of transparency and decentralization that are hallmarks of blockchain technology. This alignment ensures that blockchain's core values are not just preserved but also strengthened in the face of evolving digital landscapes.

Central to Fhenix's ethos is their dedication to democratizing access to their pioneering technology for developers. By demystifying and simplifying the intricacies of advanced cryptographic techniques, Fhenix empowers developers to harness the full potential of their platform.

This focus on accessibility and user-friendliness, as articulated by founder Guy Zyskind, ensures that developers can channel their efforts towards innovation and creativity, unencumbered by the daunting complexities of underlying cryptographic mechanisms.

Have you ever felt like you’re walking through a minefield when trying to invest in crypto? Or have you been a firsthand victim of a Pump & Dump or Rug Pull promising a 100x return?

I understand perfectly, I’ve been there too. Attracted by the apparent opportunities within this sector, only to discover that it’s not easy to unearth “gems” that can truly survive in this industry and, above all, that have a solid structure.

Well, today I present to you Forta Network. A decentralized network that allows real-time monitoring of anomalies within blockchain ecosystems, in which you have or want to invest time and money. This project caught the attention of major VCs, including Coinbase Ventures, a16z, and Blockchain Capital, which funded it with an investment of 23 million dollars in 2021.

In short, Forta allows you to:

• Detect threats and anomalies in real-time

• Monitor institutional operators (whale, project founders, VC)

• Participate in a community of cybersecurity researchers

• Privately monitor for those users who prefer it

The protocol supports L1 and L2 like Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, BNB Chain, Fantom, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Essentially, it’s like having a personal bodyguard and manager to ensure everything runs smoothly according to your set parameters. All of this is accompanied by a community of people ready to help you, to make the crypto industry safer and more accessible.

What is Forta

Forta is a decentralized network that bases its existence on cybersecurity in the crypto industry, the protocol offers 3 services:

• Attack Detector, to prevent various types of attacks

• Network Explorer, to monitor token transactions or interactions between wallets

• Scam Detector, designed to provide threat intelligence for Web3 wallets, dashboard tools, and security and compliance solutions

Attack Detector Bot

The Attack Detector Bot is an intelligent tool designed to keep a network secure. It constantly watches the network to ensure that it is not under attack. But how does it do this? Let’s try to understand.

1. Transaction Monitoring: The bot keeps an eye on all transactions taking place on the network. It’s like a traffic officer, who watches traffic (or in this case, transactions) on the road (the network).

2. Identification of Suspicious Activity: The bot is trained to recognize patterns that might indicate a potential attack. These patterns might be a sudden increase in transactions, unusually high-value transactions, or transactions coming from a source that is known to be malicious. It’s like a detective, looking for clues that something is amiss.

3. Alert the Network: If the bot spots something suspicious, it doesn’t just sit and watch. It alerts the network to the potential threat. Like a guard triggering an alarm when they see a thief.

4. Take Preventive Measures: Once an alarm has been raised, the bot can take preventive measures to protect the network. For example, suspending suspicious transactions or isolating the source of the threat. It’s like a guard closing the gates to prevent a thief from entering.

5. Learning and Adapting: The bot, thanks to machine learning, learns from each incident and adapts its strategies accordingly. This means that it gets better and better at identifying and stopping attacks over time.

In a nutshell, the Attack Detector Bot is a vigilant protector. It monitors, identifies, alerts, acts, and learns to keep the network safe from potential threats.

Forta Network Explorer

Forta Network Explorer is a tool designed to help users navigate and understand the Forta Network. It gives you a detailed and real-time overview of network activity, similar to blockchain explorers for networks like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The key features of the Forta Network Explorer include:

1. Transaction Tracking: The explorer allows users to view and track all transactions on the network. This can help identify trends, spot potential anomalies, or verify that transactions have taken place as expected.

2. Wallet Monitoring: The explorer allows users to view the activity of specific wallets on the network. This can be useful for tracking the movements of large holders (often referred to as ‘whales’) or monitoring the activity of wallets associated with a specific project.

3. Contract Interaction: The explorer enables users to view interactions with smart contracts. This can provide valuable insight into how different contracts are being used and can help identify potentially malicious contracts.

4. Data Visualization: The explorer provides a range of data visualization tools to help users understand network activity.

5. Alerts: The explorer also allows users to set up alerts for specific events. For example, you could set an alert to be notified when a certain wallet makes a transaction or when a particular contract is interacted with.

The Forta Network Explorer is an essential tool for anyone looking to understand the Forta Network, whether you’re an investor monitoring the market, a developer building on the network, or a researcher studying blockchain security.

Scam Detector Bot

The Scam Detector Bot is a powerful tool designed to provide threat intelligence for Web3 wallets, dashboard tools, and security and compliance solutions. It is an ideal resource for both retail and institutional audiences. The Scam Detector Bot can be used to build or supplement a blacklist, or as a transaction analysis tool to determine whether transactions are malicious.

Key Features of the Scam Detector Bot:

1. Threat Intelligence: The Scam Detector Bot provides threat intelligence about malicious smart contracts and EOAs that engage in scams and other end-user attacks. It relies on a collection of underlying Forta bots, each monitoring for a specific threat type.

2. 24/7/365 Monitoring: Forta bots monitor on-chain activity around the clock. They use heuristic-based approaches and machine learning to identify malicious activity.

3. Labels and Alerts: When bots identify an attack or scam on-chain, they create labels and alerts. Labels are persistent tags placed on an entity responsible for a scam or attack. Alerts are real-time findings emitted by a bot about something that happened on-chain.

4. Threat Types Monitoring: The Scam Detector Bot currently monitors on-chain activity for various threat types, including Ice phishing, Social engineering native ice phishing, Fraudulent Seaport/Blur orders, Address poisoning, and NFT Wash trading.

5. Access via GraphQL API: The Scam Detector Bot’s labels and alerts are available via Forta’s GraphQL API. This allows users to access threat intel from the Scam Detector Bot.

Tokens and Tokenomics

FORT token is an ERC-20 token operating on Ethereum’s EVM with a total supply of 1 billion FORT tokens. It has several functions and significant implications within the Forta network, which are essential for the network’s operations and security. Contract address: 0x41545f8b9472d758bb669ed8eaeeecd7a9c4ec29

Here are the uses for the FORT token:

1. Node Runner Staking: Like a Proof of Stake consensus, node runners deposit FORT as a security measure for the work they do, subject to penalties for non-performance or malicious actions.

2. Delegated Staking: FORT holders can delegate to node pools, enhancing network security and participating in rewards.

3. Bot Stake Requirement: A minimum stake (100 FORT) is required for any detection bot to operate on the network, protecting against spam and harmful bots.

4. Governance: Gradual decentralization of network governance is planned, starting with Council governance. FORT holders can participate in Snapshot Voting to influence Forta’s development.

Distribution

The token distribution is currently as follows:

• 45.5% for the community, 0.2% as rewards for node runners, 2.2% was allocated to other members of the Forta ecosystem, and 39.1% is still unallocated.

• 10% for OpenZeppelin, the company behind this project.

• 20% for initial contributors, i.e. the team (developers, etc.)

• 24.5% for financial backers, for example, VCs like a16z and others.

The token allocations for backers (VCs, Team, OpenZeppelin) are subject to a linear vesting of 4 years with a 1-year cliff (they will be completely locked for 1 year).

Governance

The governance of the Forta ecosystem is a fundamental element to ensure that the network remains an open and permissionless platform, available to anyone who wants to use it or build on it.

Forta Foundation

As the “supervisor” of Governance, there is the Forta Foundation, an independent and non-profit organization that holds certain assets (for example, public and open-source IP, Github repositories, and FORT tokens).

Forta Governance Council

The Forta Governance Council is made up of members of the Forta community and ecosystem experts, elected by FORT token holders. The Council’s task is to facilitate the collective action of its community and guide the ongoing evolution of the Forta network. You can see the “Team” section to discover the people who are part of the Council.

Proposal Processes

The Forta Proposal Process (FPP) is a public framework aimed at empowering the Forta community, allowing members to contribute to Forta’s evolution. It takes place in the Forta Forum, a public space dedicated to Forta’s governance.

The process is divided into four distinct stages, but it is not a rigid framework and can sometimes change:

• Initial Proposal

• Discussion and Review

• Community Vote

• Council Deliberation

Team

Behind the scenes of this project is OpenZeppelin, a company that mainly offers a library for the development and management of smart contracts on Ethereum.

Therefore, we don’t have a specific team because there is indeed a company behind the development of this project. However, we can see who is part of the Forta Governance Council:

1. Demian Brener — Founder & CEO of OpenZeppelin

2. Hart Lambur — Co-Founder of UMA, an optimistic oracle (a system that allows connecting blockchains to real-world assets)

3. Jeremy Sklaroff — COO of Celestia, a crypto expert lawyer passionate about decentralized technology

4. Jonathan Alexander — CTO of OpenZeppelin

5. Juan Garre — Director of Forta Foundation, a serial entrepreneur who has been working for the Forta Foundation since its inception

6. Mat Travizano — Founder of Rewilder, a serial entrepreneur now focused on managing environmental issues with blockchain technology

7. Tomasz Stańczak — Founder of Nethermind, and one of the early members of Forta

Partnerships

Let’s look at some of the main collaborations:

• MetaMask to develop a wallet extension to improve end-user security.

• Eleos Labs (another savvy company in the field of cybersecurity within Web3). The partnership is aimed at developing a suite of cybersecurity solutions to safeguard digital assets and ensure the safe operation of decentralized platforms.

• ZenGo, a self-custody wallet launched in 2019, with over 800,000 users. To improve its security, ZenGo has integrated Forta’s “Scam Detector”, a system that analyzes transactions to identify potential risks. This collaboration has allowed ZenGo to provide a safe and reliable user experience, protecting its users from scams and attacks.

• Staging Labs collaborated with Forta to integrate Forta’s real-time threat detection technology into Saferoot, an opt-in security solution from Staging Labs. The integration of Forta’s technology improves accuracy, offers customizable protection, and ensures that Saferoot remains at the forefront of threat detection and mitigation.

• Other collaborations include Luabase, Alchemy, Aave, GMX, Trader Joe, BENQI, Balancer, dYdX and many more.

Community

Discord

Inside their Server, they have a 24/7 support team, who assist in interacting with their ecosystem. Also, the different network update proposals are discussed. In my opinion the community is very active and always ready to support those who need it.

Telegram

They have a TG channel dedicated exclusively to news about their ecosystem, where they send, for example, Governance proposals.

Twitter

Their Twitter is active and very engaging. Articles or news from the cybersecurity or web3 sector are often posted.

Latest News

The most important innovation so far is the integration of fees within the network. The update will take place thanks to various types of subscriptions, functioning through smart contracts that would use NFTs to certify the ownership of a subscription. They can be paid in USDC or FORT. The earnings will be partially used as rewards for bot developers and node runners.

It has recently collaborated with Metamask and Eleos Labs, as mentioned earlier.

Conclusion

In the long term, Forta could serve as a public utility for the entire crypto space, securing DeFi, NFT, and DAO ecosystems. As the adoption of crypto becomes more mainstream, securing blockchains and digital assets is crucial, and Forta, with OpenZeppelin, is well-positioned to provide this solution, ushering in a new era of a truly open web.