Keeps on the district0x Network

Bringing private data to user-governed marketplaces

On first approach to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, many newcomers are often led to the false notion that cryptocurrencies are inherently anonymous. Perhaps as a result of the complex nature of these new asset classes, it generally takes several explanations before it becomes apparent that as public, permission-less ledgers, most cryptocurrencies can only obscure a participants identity. With only a few exceptions, most protocols have no recourse once a piece of private data is made public. For blockchains trying to serve strictly as public financial ledgers, this isn’t much of problem. On the contrary, the immutability of the historical record is a desirable feature.

Ethereum takes this one step further. With the advent of smart contracts, all contract state data is made public. For applications built with smart contracts (“dApps”), this poses a much more serious demand for privacy of the information of interacting users.

At district0x, we have thus far largely avoided this issue by building marketplaces which rely mostly on already public cryptographic data (Name Bazaar), or relatively static information users are already comfortable making public (like freelancer or employer profiles on Ethlance). Where we’ve had to protect private data for supporting services within districts, we’ve done so with purpose-built solutions.

Enter Keep

Keep offers a standard container for user’s private data, and creates a bridge between that data and the blockchain. It provides an opt-in privacy layer without compromising on transparency. Data is stored in off-chain enclaves known as “keeps”, which use secure multiparty computation (sMPC) in order to encrypt, store, and later provide that data to others. For the district0x Network, Keep can readily serve third party district developers with a secure off-chain data store to realize all new kinds of marketplaces.

Decentralized signing can pave the way for a faster trustless stack for our web dApps, allowing users to forego transactions that would normally need to propagate on-chain in favor of off-chain notarized attestation.

So called “dead man switches” can allow certain private data sets to only expose themselves to a district’s smart contract set under a certain time and condition. This allows the establishment of automated trusts which can manage a basket of assets across various districts or even other networks entirely.

Keeps allow a greater variety of digital goods to be held and transferred off-chain, settling only the exposure of data and requisite payment on-chain. This opens a world of possibilities for decentralizing various distribution platforms for music, video, and the like.

The district0x Network is the perfect place to put this functionality to the test, and we could not be more excited to see what the Keep team has to offer in 2018. We lend our full support in their endeavor to create tools that make Ethereum blockchain development more robust, secure, and flexible.

To learn more about Keep, check out the website and follow their fantastic (and educational!) blog.