Enigma is a crypto platform that’s trying to solve the problem of privacy on the blockchain by giving them access to much-needed storage, privacy, and scalability. Enigma wants to extend Ethereum Smart Contracts by introducing secret contracts, a brand of smart contract that gives users an element of privacy that’s not intrinsic to current blockchain protocols. These contracts operate off-chain, meaning the execution of the Smart Contract doesn’t occur on the Ethereum blockchain itself. This is how the Enigma protocol works: it breaks up the Smart Contract and any related data into pieces, encrypts those pieces, and distributes them redundantly among Enigma nodes. Enigma has a protocol level. The Enigma privacy protocol allows for decentralized computation of sensitive data. It has a platform layer too. On this protocol, dozens of platforms such as data marketplaces and AI exchanges can be built. In its application layer, it enables thousands of truly decentralized apps that require private computation and secure data.Its first application is catalyst. Catalyst is the first application to be built on the Enigma protocol, already active with tens of thousands of users. Catalyst is a revolutionary platform for data-driven cryptoasset investing and research, built for professional crypto traders. Enigma has a team of MIT graduates, and they’ve been working diligently to ensure Enigma’s success. Guy Zyskind, Enigma’s CEO and cofounder, helped start the project while he was still a student at MIT. He has more than a decade of software development experience with an M.S. from MIT. Sandy Pentland, a well known MIT data scientist who gained fame for his work in data-mining social interactions, is Zyskind and Nathan’s adviser on Enigma. With other advisors such as Alex Pentland, who sits on the Advisory Boards for Google and Nissan, CEO of Abra, Bill Barhydt and director of MIT media lab, Prof. Alex Pentland, it is hard to difficult a fault in the team.
Huobi, the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, recently announced and launched a new currency. The Huobi Token (HT) rewards exchange users for their loyalty with lowered transaction fees while also carrying its own value in tradable pairs against popular currencies. The hope was to bring greater value to Huobi’s millions of users, mostly located in Asian countries. The launch of the Huobi Token follows in the footsteps of other loyalty-building tokens that other exchanges have launched. The first and most successful of these tokens has been Binance Coin (BNB). The creation of BNB secured Binance’s place as the world’s leading exchange. It offered discounted trading fees in exchange for customer loyalty, primarily functioning as a loyalty rewards system. Huobi officially announced its intentions to launch a new token on January 22, 2018. Over the course of 15 days, Huobi would distribute 300 million HT (60% of the total supply) to its pro users who purchased a discounted service package. Each morning, a new batch of HT would become available on a first come, first served basis. Huobi declared this token distribution scheme, “not an ICO,” due to the nature of the offering. Users are buying a specific service package, part of which includes HT that give a discount toward trading fees. The exchange launched the Huobi Token as part of an overall strategy to recover its user base after tightening regulations in China severely restricted cryptocurrency trading. In an interview with CoinDesk, Leon Li, Huobi’s founder, revealed that Chinese rule changes had decimated the trading volume on Huobi by 95% between September 15 and November 1, 2017. The HT token distribution began on January 24 and wrapped up on February 7, 2018. Each day of the distribution, millions of tokens sold out in mere minutes after going on sale. At that point, 300 million HT had been distributed to Huobi Pro members who bought packages. That’s 60% of the total supply currently in public circulation. Another 200 million HT, 40% of the total supply, was set aside. 20% goes toward user rewards and platform operation. The other 20% is vested for four years and constitutes the team reward. Huobi isn’t the first exchange to issue its own token. Binance (BNB), Bibox (BIX), KuCoin (KCS) and Coss (COSS) have all issued their own tokens as well.