Thread by @AnastasiaU

1/ Here's an A-Z list of every startup or company I could find building the crypto privacy & identity ecosystem.

Why privacy AND identity? Cuz we can't make real progress on privacy unless we also rearchitect toward user-centric identity -- fight me!

2/ Looking for a job fixing tech? Here's your cheat sheet.

Founder? I can't fill in letters Q & Y, so go start something.

Investor? Help letters Q & Y get some runway. 😉

My goal was to be comprehensive, so please add whatever's missing & correct any errors.

3/ Why did I do this?

Because I think crypto's great. I'm all in.

But amid all the hype and excitement that web3 fixes everything wrong with the past 15 years of social media, we forget that it actually...doesn't.

The blockchain is not a panacea.

4/ The promise of a new, decentralized business model does not by itself address the underlying primitives that create surveillance capitalism: data exhaust, behavior tracking and aggregation, and digital identities abstracted from their true owners.

5/ Data ownership isn't about moving from platform from protocol, or from custodial to non-custodial wallets.

It's about identity.

Without custody over our identities – and therefore our data, privacy preferences, and cognitive access controls, we'll just replicate web2.

6/ Want to do something about digital privacy? Start here.

This is by no means a scorecard, endorsement, or stamp of approval. It's a cheat sheet so you can DYOR.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

(Scroll to the bottom for more on why this matters. 🙏)

7/ Affinidi (@affinidi) offers a DID/VC solution and SSI wallet to create, store, control, & selectively share verifiable credentials.

Notable for attacking the SSI cold start problem by building out the ecosystem.

Thank them for this handy DID map!

https://twitter.com/affinidi/status/1506492865790488577?s=20&t=TBq6dj4xd9bZMgET9YvEkA

8/ Animo (@AnimoSolutions) is DID/VC provider working on systems and infrastructure for SSI.

They built this Aries CLI so you can play around and create invitations, schemas, and credentials.

aries-cli.animo.id

9/ Aleo (@AleoHQ) is an IDE toolkit for building & deploying private, ZKP-enabled applications.

Recently raised a Series B with some seriously impressive backing, so if you weren't bullish on privacy-first blockchains before, you should be!

aleo.org/post/aleo-rais…

10/ Aztec (@aztecnetwork) is an L2 that uses ZKP for scalable, affordable ETH privacy. They also offer an SDK that allows users to mint their own private assets.

Notable for nerdcore cryptography research team behind PLONK, & for betting it all on ETH.

https://twitter.com/jonwu_/status/1508251280698867717?s=20&t=TBq6dj4xd9bZMgET9YvEkA

11/ BlockWallet (@GetBlockWallet) is a non-custodial wallet that uses privacy-enhancing smart contracts to make confidential and secure crypto transfers.

Lets users connect to any dApp across multiple chains...an intriguing alternative to M3t@m@sk.

medium.com/blockwallet/bl…

12/ Bloom (@Bloom) is a DID/VC wallet & credit scoring solution that hopes to reduce the risk of ID theft and costs of compliance & fraud.

Love their focus on financial inclusion & expanding the promise of DeFi beyond collateralized lending using verifiable credentials.

13/ Brave (@brave), known for their private browser, should be on your radar for their crypto wallet (brave.com/wallet/) as well as their Basic Attention Token (@AttentionToken):

basicattentiontoken.org/announcing-a-n…

14/ Bright ID (@BrightIDProject) is working on the hard problem of Sybil resistance.

By creating decentralized proof of unique humanity, they aim to exclude bots from governance & ensure users don’t game airdrops with multiple wallets & fake identities.

mirror.xyz/0x187E46cB0770…

15/ Cardea (@CardeaProject) is an open-source ecosystem for private exchange of health information, status & credentials, a project in Linux Foundation Public Health.

If open source, privacy, and/or health is your thing, jump on a community call:

https://twitter.com/CardeaProject/status/1512089389920243714?s=20&t=TBq6dj4xd9bZMgET9YvEkA

16/ Centre (@centre_io) was founded by @coinbase and @circlepay to launch USDC and Verite, a DID/VC provider for crypto finance.

Here's a deep dive from their Director of Identity and Standards, @kimdhamilton:

centre.io/blog/verite-a-…

17/ Ceramic (@ceramicnetwork) is a heavyweight in decentralized, private storage.

They follow W3C standards for DIDs and VCs, and there's also IDX (@identityindex), an identity protocol for open applications:

blog.ceramic.network/capability-bas…

From the @3boxlabs team.

18/ Cheqd (@cheqd_io) is a DID/VC solution on @cosmos. They're building a network that enables individuals and organizations to securely control their personal data.

Notable for focus on shipping a monetizable business model for verifiable credentials.

Which, hmm. Convince me.

19/ Dash (@dashpay) is a privacy coin designed to offer financial freedom to everyone with payments that are instant, easy, and secure, with near-zero fees.

Notable for optional, but not by-default, privacy features.

20/ DeepOnion (@GetDeepOnion) is a privacy coin with browser extensions & a confidential notary service.

Notable that no cryptographic encryption or mixing pools are used. Instead, a random wallet hidden behind the anonymous Tor network sends your payment without leaving traces.

21/ Dero (@DeroProject) is an L1 general purpose, private & scalable platform that allows developers to ship dApps where users retain control over their assets with complete privacy.

Notable for homomorphic encryption combined w/ smart contracts.

Not on the ZK train, eh?

22/ DIF (@DecentralizedID) is a non-profit shaping the open standards ecosystem around decentralized ID, aiming for consistency & interoperability across platforms, devices, components, & data formats.

Excellent documentation. Ground zero for learning about the space.

23/ Digital Bazaar (@digitalbazaar) are OGs in the identity and standards space who published the JSON-LD spec and founded the W3C's Credentials Community Group.

Start here, take a few hours! w3.org/community/cred…

24/ Digital Trust Ventures (@DigitalTrustVC) is a venture studio that incubates SSI startups.

They have a really janky website and that's pretty much all I know about them, so DYOR.

Maybe get a job there redesigning their website? It hurts. 🤦🏻‍♀️

25/ Disco (@discoxyz), ah, how do I love thee. They pass the vibe AND the credentials check.

Many identity companies are crypto-anxious. Not Disco, which asks: how will you reflect your identity in the metaverse, anon?

Important, spicy talk at ETHDenver:

https://twitter.com/discoxyz/status/1495603717978034183?s=20&t=s3IcBYepJUnY88Yk_lWSXA

26/ Espresso (@EspressoSys) is an EVM app for creating digital assets w/ configurable privacy using ZKP, both for new assets & pre-existing ETH tokens.

Notable for CAPE: Configurable Asset Privacy for ETH.

Here's @GreylockVC on why they're in:

greylock.com/portfolio-news…

27/ Evernym (@evernym) is an identity platform for verifiable credentials that helps companies deploy SSI solutions, with infrastructure & GTM resources.

Notable for being around a long time & lots of institutional customers but still not having solved decentralized identity. 😬

28/ Findora (@Findora) provides on-chain confidentiality & programmable privacy for stablecoins, wrapped tokens, NFTs, & DeFi, w/ ZK. They envision infrastructure w/ full interconnectivity, native privacy, transparency, & compliance.

Notable for that last part...compliant focus.

29/ Gataca (@GATACA_ID) is a blockchain-agnostic DID/VC platform and wallet that's focused on interoperbility:

gataca.io/blog/this-is-h…

30/ GlobaliD (@_GlobaliD) is a universal, portable SSI and an ecosystem of third-party verification providers.

Notable for focus on compliance, specifically mentioning HIPAA, SOC2, CCPA, and GDPR.

31/ Grin (grin.mw) is a privacy coin built on Mimblewimble. That's a *great* name for a protocol. Let's stay with that for a sec.

Ok.

No Twitter. Non-profit. Elliptic curve! Not on that ZK train, either, eh.

32/ Horizen (@horizenglobal) is a ZK network offering developer tooling to custom-build private or public chains, & a cross-chain protocol with auditable privacy.

Notable for building the critical infrastructure for on-chain privacy & emphasis on compliance and auditability.

33/ iden3 (@identhree) is an identity solution promising next-gen private, self-sovereign access control, designed for decentralized & trust-minimised environments.

Notable mention in @0xPolygon's announcement:

https://twitter.com/0xPolygon/status/1508841870985609220?s=20&t=bEJKD2xiMG3EMM-ajZMTgA

34/ IDX (@identityindex), which we coverd above under @ceramicnetwork, is a cross-chain multiplatform identity protocol that replaces centralized user tables. Allows users to build up a unified, persistent identity & break down silos.

https://twitter.com/identityindex/status/1288119007657172994

35/ IDZ (@IDZ_01) is an e2e-encrypted NFT storage "container" for ID management that creates "ZASSET" NFTs.

Expanding the NFT usecase! But hmm. Not sold on NFTs as IDs. And why a watch? Or exclusive club access?

It's identity, not yacht membership. Help me understand.

36/ Indicio (@IndicioID) is the team behind the @CardeaProject above, and seem to be focused on the enterprise, government, and public health ecosystem for DIDs and VCs.

37/ Indy (@Hyperledger) is an ecosystem of tools, libraries, and reusable components for digital identities rooted on blockchains or distributed ledgers that are interoperable across administrative domains, applications, and any other silo.

Built by @linuxfoundation.

38/ JoinMarket (@joinmarket) is a decentralized BTC coinjoin for improving privacy and fungibility.

The forthcoming JoinMarket UI will give people an easier way to use coinjoins to keep their BTC transactions private.

coindesk.com/tech/2022/02/2…

39/ Jolocom (@GETJolocom) builds global infrastructure to support decentralized digital identity management.

Notable for thoughtful contributions to Germany's approach to digital ID.

Also their website and blog are a wealth of high-quality resources.

40/ KILT (@Kiltprotocol) is a blockchain protocol for issuing self-sovereign, anonymous, revocable, verifiable credentials, decentralized identifiers on @Polkadot.

41/ lifeID (@lifeID_io) is an open source, tokenized identity protocol for both web2 and blockchain ecosystems 🤝 providing users with convenient, secure and private transactions.

But lifeID's last blog post is from 2018. Hmm. Signs of life?

42/ LitProtocol (@LitProtocol) provides infrastructure for decentralized access control. Companies, creators & DAOs can use the SDK to grant access to content, software & data using tokens, NFTs & blockchain identity as keys.

Hello token-gated e-commerce! apps.shopify.com/lit-token-acce…

43/ MACI or Minimum Anti-Collusion Infrastructure, is a base layer for bribery-resistant, secure, and private digital voting. No Twitter, but here's the repo: appliedzkp.github.io/maci/

Notable for providing critical infrastructure and standards for private voting!

44/ Mattr (@mattrglobal) is an open & interoperable ecosystem for digital trust.

Notable for focus on common standards, collaborating with policymakers & industry to hopefully avoid data silos and this kind of thing:

45/ Mina (@MinaProtocol) is an L1 for devs to build zkApps w/ smart contracts & zk-SNARKS. Blocks are consistent size so it scales accessibly even as it accumulates data.

Notable for permissionless oracles to access off-chain state & connect real world to crypto. Que bueno.

46/ Monero (@monero) is a secure, private, untraceable coin for confidential money. Grassroots. Open source. Uses ring signatures & stealth addresses.

Notorious association w/ criminals & ransomware. But so is cash.

I don't blame tools for how they're used. Fight me.

47/ Northern Block (@northern_block) focuses on enabling & developing the digital trust ecosystem. Basically, attacking the cold start problem to get SSI off the ground: northernblock.io/introduction-t…

They have a great podcast if you're learning this stuff: northernblock.io/podcasts/

48/ Nuggets (@nuggetsPAYandID) yes, NUGGETS! An SSI & payment platform for web2, web3 & the Metaverse. It enables trusted transactions through verified digital identities, a personal cloud vault, & auditable nuggets of data.

Ah, that's why nuggets. I'm on board with this.

49/ Nym (@nymproject) is privacy infrastructure.

Their mixnet, token, and credentials prevent data leakage by protecting every packet’s metadata at the network and application layers.

Much yes to this:

https://twitter.com/nymproject/status/1508481131783540737

50/ Oasis (@OasisProtocol) is an L1 promising privacy, speed, scalability & the lowest fees in DeFi using Trusted Execution Environments.

Notably separates consensus & execution layers, so complex workloads processed on one won’t slow down simpler transactions on another.

51/ Open Meta (OpenMetaDAO), part of @CrucibleNetwork, builds infrastructure & standards for user sovereignty in digital worlds and the open metaverse: everything connected & accessible for all, w/o the surveillance capitalism.

Strong words here:
medium.com/@ops_25520/joi…

52/ PAD (@PADtech_team) is an API to secure confidential info shared between multiple parties while retaining transparency as to what's been accessed.

Notable for something called Privacy Preserving Accountable Decryption -- not sure what that means but LFG I guess!

53/ Panther (@ZKPanther) is an L1 that provides financial institutions with a clear path to compliantly participate in DeFi while breaking the on-chain link.

Notable for emphasis on compliance and auditability through selective and ZK disclosure schemes.

54/ PIVX (@_PIVX) stands for Protected Instant Verified Transaction, apparently the world's first zk-SNARKs-based financial data protection protocol on a PoS chain. The idea is to be your own bank with full control of your digital assets.

55/ Polygon (@0xPolygon) caused a stir -- and was met with skepticism -- when they came out with PolygonID to bring zero-knowledge, private-by-default self-sovereign identity to web3.

Start here: blog.polygon.technology/introducing-po…

And here:

https://twitter.com/0xPolygon/status/1508841855210852353

56/ Privy (@privy_io) just closed $8.3m seed from @sequoia & @blueyard to build APIs to help developers manage encrypted off-chain user data privately.

Can they demolish the false choice between privacy & convenience? LFG.

https://twitter.com/privy_io/status/1516817607546093568

This branding pleases me. 🤌

57/ Q is empty! Anybody know a crypto privacy or identity company or project that starts with Q?

Founders: greenfield territory here. Start something! 🙌

Funders: check, please. ✍️

58/ Rotkiapp (@rotkiapp) is an open-source portfolio tracker, accounting, and analytics tool that protects user privacy.

Financial data is kept encrypted in your system and not shared with third parties.

59/ Samourai Wallet (@SamouraiWallet) is a coinjoin BTC mixer & privacy wallet "for the streets" that is "hand forged" to keep your transactions private, your identity masked & your funds secured.

Anti-surveillance & censorship -- & fully unapologetic about it. I don't hate it!

60/ Scala (@ScalaHQ) is a secure, private, and mobile-friendly cryptocurrency linking #IPFS and distributed technologies.

They forked from @monero to provide untraceable payments, unlinkable transactions, and blockchain-analysis resistance:

hodlershub.com/scala-building…

61/ Secret Network (@SecretNetwork) is an L1 with super stoked community of, uh, secret agents. You can even be one! 🕵️

scrt.network/get-involved/b…

Offers customizable privacy so you can choose what you share, with whom & how.

There's a whole ecosystem for DeFi, NFTs & gaming.

62/ Serto (@serto_id), formerly uPort, offers easy-to-use decentralized identity and connected data solutions for enterprises. Built by the @ConsenSys team.

Not sure if they're still doing anything, actually?

63/ Shade Protocol (@Shade_Protocol) is an array of connected privacy-preserving dApps built on @SecretNetwork. Silk is their private burn-based algorithmic global stablecoin, offering transactional privacy-by-default.

64/ Sismo (@Sismo_eth) issues ZK badges for reputation aggregation & private access control to build up your ETH profile w/ anonymised attestations. So, Soulbound.

Look, I like @VitalikButerin as much as the next guy but contracting uncurable NFTs is sus.
blog.sismo.io/what-is-sismo-…

65/ Sovrin (@SovrinID) is a non-profit, open source, decentralized, public identity network metasystem to create, manage, & control self-sovereign digital identity.

One of the OGs, and the site is a wealth of info on SSI.

Start here: sovrin.org/wp-content/upl…

66/ Spruce (@SpruceID) is having an exciting week after a $34m Series A by @a16z!

https://twitter.com/SpruceID/status/1516769144447844360

Self-sovereign data storage, access controls, & tooling for Web3.

I'm stoked about Sign-In With Ethereum. Think they found the killer SSI usecase: blog.spruceid.com/spruce-develop…

67/ Stealth (@stealthsend) is a feeless, private, and scalable digital currency that uses the Junaeth Proof of Merit consensus mechanism:

stealth.org/junaeth

68/ Tornado Cash (@TornadoCash) is a coin tumbler that offers ETH transaction privacy. Lawmakers like to get spicy about it being a protocol for criminals.

I'll just remind that cash continues to be the default choice: swift.com/sites/default/…

More facts: blog.coinbase.com/fact-check-cry…

69/ Transmute (@TransmuteNews) connects enterprise infrastructure with decentralized identity, credential & data storage solutions, acting as an agent to coordinate secure interactions between identities, business workflows, storage systems & blockchains.

70/ Trinsic (@trinsic_id) is an identity wallet & infrastructure that describes itself as a trust ecosystem in a box, offering interoperable tech & programmatic governance to scale the DID/VC ecosystem.

71/ Tykn (@Tykn_tech) focuses on the social impact and financial inclusion aspects of digital identity. They offer decentralized single sign-on using REST APIs to authenticate, so users can enjoy the convenience of SSO while keeping control over data.

tykn.tech/about/

72/ Umbra (@UmbraCash) offers privacy-preserving stealth payments on Ethereum using plain old elliptic curve cryptography rather than ZK.

Not fully private, and comes with different tradeoffs:
app.umbra.cash/faq#how-does-u…

73/ Unum (@Unum_ID) is a blockchain-based identity platform offering passwordless authentication & ID card marketplace for verified identify data, shared with full user consent.

74/ Veil (@ProjectVeil) is creating an encrypted equivalent of the cash economy, where privacy is the most convenient choice. The coin will use Ring Signatures and hybrid PoW + PoS for consensus:

veil-project.com/technology/

75/ Veramo, from the uPort team, offers modular APIs for creating and handling DIDs + VCs. The CLI tool gives access to all the core functionality from your terminal.

No twitter, but here are the deets: medium.com/uport/introduc…

76/ Verida (@Verida_io) is decentralized network of private databases for Web3 data storage owned & controlled by users.

Offers decentralized messaging, SSO, and support for multiple blockchains.

news.verida.io/the-verida-whi…

77/ Verite, by the @circlepay team, offers decentralized identity for crypto finance and web3 commerce.

circle.com/blog/unlocking…

78/ Verus (@VerusCoin) is a scalable public blockchain infrastructure for token creation, self-sovereign identities, DeFi, and ZK privacy -- basically, public blockchains as a service?

medium.com/veruscoin/veru…

79/ Walt ID (@walt_id) builds open-source solutions that make it easy to deploy SSI, built for developers and enterprises.

They have a helpful explainer on why NFTs *are not identity*. Louder for the folks in the back, please:

walt.id/decentralized-…

80/ Wasabi (@wasabiwallet) is an open-source, non-custodial, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet for desktop, that implements trustless coinjoin. All Wasabi network traffic goes via Tor by default.

81/ Web3Auth (@Web3Auth) is self-custodial auth infrastructure for Web3 dapps and wallets, with fiat-to-crypto APIs, non-custodial MFA, and OAuth2.0.

Unforch, they use the word "robusticity" in proud, shiny, blue gradient H2 font on their homepage, and I object. No. J'accuse.

82/ Worldcoin (@worldcoin) ah, Worldcoin.

This "privacy-preserving proof-of-personhood protocol" from, uh, @sama, landed in seriously hot water this month for, well, their eye scanning orbs?

You decide: technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/104…

83/ The World Wide Web Consortium (@W3C) makes the Web work, for everyone. 😇

Founded by *that* @timberners_lee they develop interoperable technologies, standards, specifications, guidelines, software, and tools. Like TCP/IP! <3

84/ XX Network (@xx_network) is a quantum-resistant and privacy-focused blockchain ecosystem and digital currency.

They also offer a messaging service:
xx.network/messenger/

85/ I couldn't find a Y, but I felt cute, so I bought yeet.id and created @Yeet_ID.

...You know, to yeet surveillance capitalism with a friendly UI layer for decentralized identity + verifiable credentials, obviously.

Might raise. Might not. WDYT?

86/ Zaka (@proof_space), which is now ProofSpace, is a no-code platform for issuing & verifying reusable identity credentials.

They earned the ID2020 certification the Digital Identity Alliance: id2020.org

blockchainmagazine.net/id2020-allianc…

87/ Zcash (@zcash) is a fast & confidential digital currency with low fees built for mobile transactions.

There's also Zcash Foundation (zfnd.org), which supports not just Zcash but also broader applications of ZK and other approaches to financial privacy.

88/ Web3 alters the fundamentals about how people transact value and construct meaning, so of course it becomes a vessel for all manner of idealism, including the naive idea that users instantly own their data simply by exiting extractive platforms that monetize attention.

89/ I'm down with both idealism and data ownership, but making that a reality takes work. It doesn't just happen by sheer dint of something being web3.

You have to work to understand what's messed up and then do the work to unfuck it. Thats not FUD, that's responsible adulthood.

90/ In fact, by itself, web3 does nothing to end surveillance capitalism or give users back their data because the main drivers of surveillance capitalism – relentless data exhaust & tracking – are left unchecked.

91/ Even if we do away with centralized platforms altogether and shift all business to decentralized protocols, the only thing that changes is where user telemetry gets stored: in the cloud or on the public ledger.

92/ Indeed, the privacy implications of web3 are generally made worse, not better, because even if platforms no longer own user data, most transactions become a matter of public record, exposing users to targeted monitoring & surveillance by anyone using a block explorer.

93/ That's why we need the companies on this list to succeed and do well, and why we need to fight back against lawmakers' attempts to build surveillance into crypto:

https://twitter.com/AnastasiaU/status/1512447387146629125?s=20&t=wq3yL2IMoqQUcS0D1I470g

94/ There is a fatal flaw in the naive logic that blockchains, on their own, address the harms that pervade our dominant platforms: most of those harms are rooted in ineffective privacy protections & poorly designed identity management, not extractive business models.

95/ So long as the surplus telemetry that emerges from ineffective and outdated privacy frameworks and identity governance enables the monetization of data exhaust for commercial gain, surveillance capitalism will persist.

96/ The business model of attention-driven economics is merely a symptom of surveillance capitalism, not its source.

Unless we address these failure modes, there will be no material difference between extractive platforms & the decentralized versions that hope to supplant them.

97/ Systematic commercialization of attention will merely shift from platforms to protocols, yielding the same predations we're weary of today, indistinguishable except in degree: reidentification & targeting & in even more immersive, inescapable, pervasive, immutable forms.

98/ Despite the risks, web3 presents a unique opportunity to abandon outmoded frameworks in favor of identity & privacy schemes that center individual autonomy & agency. SO LFG.

This is an opportunity that nobody, least of all those building Web3, can afford to ignore.