The decentralized privacy protocol HOPR is releasing the “proof-of-relay” (PoR), which is the core of its incentive mechanism that ensures that payments go to users who help to mix data traffic between other nodes on the network.
HOPR's network of relay nodes for privacy
Previously, HOPR had already invited participants to test the network, with around 500 nodes joining. This month's launch of the HOPR Basòdino testnet was the first time the complete protocol was made available along with PoR, said the startup's CEO, Sebastian Bürgel.
"Speaking of some similarities, most people have heard of proof-of-work [PoW] or proof-of-stake [PoS], which are mechanisms for securing blockchains and ensuring integrity," Bürgel said. in an interview.
"Similarly, when relay nodes in HOPR are doing their job, transmitting data packets, they are providing proof to the network and are rewarded in HOPR tokens for doing so." All rewards raised on the testnet will be made available when HOPR tokens are launched on the live mainnet later this year, Bürgel explained.
Users can now open and fund payment channels with xHOPR tokens and send messages that pass through one or more nodes before reaching their destination. If you act as a relay node, you will earn tickets that can be redeemed for xHOPR, he said.
A blockchain to support Ethereum
HOPR protects Internet communication from prying eyes by encouraging a network of nodes to mix data packets with other traffic before sending them. This makes it nearly impossible for third parties such as telecommunications companies or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to track down bits of metadata and figure out who is communicating with whom.
As such, HOPR offers a blockchain-based internet protocol in the same way as Tor (the onion router) or a virtual private network (VPN). There are already other companies in the crypto sector that have focused on user privacy, such as the privacy startup Nym which has a bitcoin incentive program to allow users to run its mixnet, or the Orchid protocol which offers a system based on ERC-20 tokens compatible with Ethereum as an incentive - here how to trade ETH with Bitcoin Pro.
The recent explosion of interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) has made the Ethereum blockchain congested and this has driven transaction costs skyrocketing. HOPR gets around this by using a Level 2 scaling system on Ethereum called the Matic chain.
The latter lowers the value of commissions and allows for a high return on transactions. “Matic is the blockchain that we run our payment scheme on, because if we have 500 people doing a bunch of transactions and we had to pay them from a few dollars to $ 10 per transaction, that would be prohibitive,” Bürgel said. "Matic allows you to settle for a fraction of a cent in seconds, instead of minutes on the Ethereum blockchain."
