There's a new smart contract out there that's going to allow users to exchange ERC-20 tokens privately. This smart contract (AZTEC) can turn any asset on the Ethereum blockchain into an AZTEC note. This note can then be traded privately to anyone on the network without revealing how much has been traded.
https://oracletimes.com/the-holy-grail-of-crypto-aztec-protocol-zero-knowledge-dai-implementation-is-live-on-the-ethereum-mainnet-makerdao-announces/
https://xbt.net/blog/ethereum-privacy-focused-startup-aztec-raises-2-million/
The crazy thing? This protocol has already been tested on Dai coins and works like a charm.
zk-SNARKS is a cryptographic technique that is most commonly associated with privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash.
Basically, this team is going to implement Zcash technology across the boards on the Ethereum network. This is prime example of one project helping all the others. In the near future, any ERC-20 token will be able to transact privately.
In addition, the goal of the project is to lure banks and other big business to the Ethereum network.
And apart from adding enhanced privacy to the transactions, the startup claims that its technology will also significantly boost settlement speeds in the loans market.
According to Pocock, the AZTEC protocol is targeted for use in banks and that to achieve this goal, the startup will partner CreditMint, another Ethereum-based project that facilitates debt issuance and trading for corporate.
AZTEC is said to have widely consulted with several top financial institutions that specialize in private corporate debt, including top-10 banks. The firm expects to have attracted the first wave of customers by January 2019.
The public Ethereum blockchain cannot, at the moment, guarantee “full transaction privacy” that top banks demand, hence the desire by banks to work with private/permissioned blockchains.
But the AZTEC team wants to change all that, using the zero-knowledge proofs technology.
As we see time and time again, development chugs along at a steady pace regardless of market sentiment. There are no Ethereum killers. Ethereum's niche will always be higher decentralized trust at the cost of speed and scalability. However, it's projects like this that fit in perfectly with that line of thinking.
I fully believe that there will be property deeds on the Ethereum blockchain within ten years. No one's going to care that it cost 3 cents over 15 seconds to transfer ownership of their motorcycle or beach house. Ethereum is going to be the go-to chain for big transactions that require a lot of security.
Development on the Ethereum blockchain trumps all the others. It's pretty obvious that everyone's going to be playing catch-up for quite some time. This is why blockchain competition is not a thing. There are so many opportunities to pursue that it doesn't make sense to compete for the same one.
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