Cryptocurrencies and privacy
Almost as long as Bitcoin's existence, the question of privacy has been discussed. Although Bitcoin works with wallet addresses, not with user names or e-mail addresses, it was pretty clear from the start that Bitcoin would not be anonymous. With a fully open blockchain, accessible for anyone to inspect and analyse, and wallet addresses that record balances and transactions openly and visibly, Bitcoin is only pseudo-anonymous. As long as a wallet address cannot be tied to a real life identity, no one knows who the sender, holder of recipient is of a particular Bitcoin wallet address.
But like a lot of things in life, at some point hidden things touch the above ground world. Tell someone your Bitcoin address, drop it somewhere in an e-mail, forum, picture or blog, and suddenly everyone knows the digital identity belonging to that Bitcoin address, including the past (and future) of that Bitcoin address for the rest of our lives. And we all know that the step from digital identity to real identity is often trivial.
The issue with transparency
Although transparency looks great at first sight (you've got nothing to hide, don't you?), with some further thought a few issues come to mind. Serious issues.
One of these issues is fungibility. Good money is supposed to be fungible.
The basic idea of fungibility in the context of cryptocurrency is that one token of a particular cryptocurrency network can be swapped for another taken without issues. Just like one ounce of gold can be swapped with another ounce of gold. They are and should be the same. For further reading on this, see Wikipedia - Fungibility.
As said above, in case of Bitcoin the transaction history is visible to anyone. The general complaint made in this respect by proponents of privacy (crypto)tokens is that Bitcoin is not fungible because one can always trace where certain coins in a wallet address came from. If, for instance, a certain Bitcoin was used in an illegal or shady transaction, and subsequently winds up in your Bitcoin wallet (perhaps with many steps in between; I am not accusing you of anything :) ), some people could consider that Bitcoin token as tainted now. That could lead to that Bitcoin token or wallet address being blacklisted by certain parties so it is not accepted by certain parties anymore. If 'blacklisting' is done by organisations central to Bitcoin (or taken over as a behaviour by enough regular Bitcoin users because they fear blacklisting themselves or want to avoid any 'tainted' tokens), the general acceptance of Bitcoin tokens could suffer.
One Bitcoin token is no longer the same as another Bitcoin token: exit fungibility and thus one of the requirements of 'good money'.
Solutions brought by the market
To counter this problem, at an early stage cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been working on cryptocurrencies that do not have full transparency of the blockchain involved and/or the wallet addresses used. A few of these cryptocurrencies (e.g., Monero and Dash) have taken off considerably - price wise - lately, showing the demand for privacy--minded payment networks. While both coins have different approaches, in essence the privacy is obtained by shielding off transaction information and blockchain information in a certain manner.
So the workings of free markets have brought solutions to the perceived problem of too much transparency. I cannot speak for Dash but a lot of work has been done by the Monero team to secure privacy when using Monero tokens. Respect for the devs..... Could it still be done better?
Well, perhaps it can: enter DeepOnion.
A Newcomer: DeepOnion
DeepOnion has a core treat build into its system: the TOR network. People that value privacy have probably heard of the TOR network already. In essence, the TOR network enables users connected to the Internet, to visit sites and use the Internet in general without anyone being able to see what the user is doing. The connection between user and website or other online service goes via the TOR network, ensuring anonymous browsing and other online activity. No one can log what the user is doing (assuming his device has not been hacked).
The following graph may clarify this further:
If you are not familiar with this technology, you can give it a try with the TOR browser (for windows; versions for Mac and Linux available as well) and try it yourself.
The devs of DeepOnion have adapted the Bitcoin software to run over this exact same TOR network. This ensures the same level of privacy when browsing over the TOR network. From end to end, the connection is private and secure. For now, the DeepOnion blockchain is still public information. So the issue of pseudo anonymity remains. If your DeepOnion address is published and visibly tied to a certain (digital) identity, the world will know all about the transaction history, the balance and the future of that user's wallet.
Solving this will take another step in the development of DeepOnion.
The Next Level: DeepSend
The next step for DeepOnion is the introduction of 'DeepSend' functionality. Not much is known yet about this functionality. Unfortunately, the details are still very scarce. All we know is that DeepSend will introduce wallet and transaction obfuscation. No doubt further information will come once the devs feel ready.
With TOR connectivity build into the DeepOnion system as default and the upcoming introduction of DeepSend technology, DeepOnion is bound to take a prominent place in the field of privacy-enabled tokens. For us as users good news: more competition means more choice and - over time - better solutions.
Join the action!
The DeepOnion devs have decided to distribute the DeepOnion tokens by means of an Airdrop. Furthermore, bounties are available for writing articles about DeepOnion and other activities that support the spread of this new privacy-minded token.
Airdrop
The Airdrop is only open for BitcoinTalk users from a certain level (Members). Each new subscriber will be vetted by the Devs: they do not want dumpers who dump the coin at first sight. They want committed members who want to contribute to the cryptocurrency scene and DeepOion in particular.
Hey, I did not invent these rules....
Number of Tokens
12.5 million tokens will be distributed in 40 weeks of which 8 weeks have already lapsed. There are strict rules to this Airdrop and failure to adhere to these rules
Signup process
As described on and summarised from the DeepOnion website:
*To receive the free DeepOnion airdrop, kindly do the following
- Update your signature to match your membership level
(get: https://deeponion.org/view_signatures.php) - Update your bitcointalk bitcoin address to your DeepOnion address
- Register at the DeepOnion official forums: https://deeponion.org/community/login/login (if you have not done so before).
Use your bitcointalk userid and airdrop wallet you added in the 2nd step during your forum application, or update from your personal details - Apply at https://deeponion.org/community/apply.php?ref=48481
After you have applied, you can check your status at: https://deeponion.org/community/check_status.php
+0.008 ONION Instantly sent to your ONION Wallet as bonus
You need to post 10 posts per per week with at least 50 characters, low post quality will not be accepted.
https://deeponion.org/community/threads/airdrop-what-is-low-quality-post.685/*
Whether you qualify for the Airdrops or not, you can sign up to the DeepOnion Community and start contributing.*
There are other Steemit articles that explain the sign up process in further detail. Again, strict rules apply for the Airdrop (unfortunately) so make sure that you comply with each of them. One of them is that you can not sell more than 10% of your DeepOnion tokens at any moment before the end of the entire Airdrop process. Yes, these devs mean it.
Again, if you do not qualify for the Airdrops, you can still join the DeepOnion community and start contributing (and try to get bounties regularly posted).
More information
If you want more information on DeepOnion, you can visit the following links:
- DeepOnion Website: https://www.deeponion.org/
- DeepOnion Community: https://deeponion.org/community/
- Steemit: https://steemit.com/trending/deeponion
- Discord (chat): https://discordapp.com/channels/353801541225938944/353801541225938945
- Bitcointalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2006010.0
- DeepOnion trading: https://novaexchange.com/market/BTC_ONION/
Happy Steeming (and be anonymous....)