Messari: Interpretation of the advantages and roadmap of the merger of Keep Network and NuCypher

As a product of the first decentralized application merger, Threshold (Keep Network/NuCypher) wants to create a de facto crypto network for blockchains and cryptocurrencies, bringing together a highly scalable decentralized solution (tBTC v2) BTC was introduced into the Ethereum network. Thanks in part to Keep's previous iterations of tBTC and NuCypher's expanded node network, Threshold aims to provide the first fully decentralized Bitcoin-to-Ethereum asset bridge, a space hosted by centralized custodial provider BitGo in the hands of some prominent partners Control with help.



background


Keep Network

Keep Network was founded in 2017 by Matt Luongo and Corbin Pon as a privacy layer for public blockchains. KEEP utilizes off-chain data containers capable of interacting with smart contracts. These off-chain data containers, called “Keeps,” are managed by a distributed network of Keep operators called “Signers,” who are randomly assigned portions of user data, further protecting the information from unwanted access.

By segmenting and encrypting the data of multiple signers, accessing the complete information would require multiple parties to collude and agree to merge their segments, which seems to work against their own interests. The system relies on Keep Network's main application, Secure Multi-Party Computation (sMPC), which ensures that information stored on the network cannot be decoded by a single signer.

NuCypher

NuCypher was founded in 2015 by Michael Egorov and MacLane Wilkison with the goal of providing data protection and encryption that still allows users to move information and computing securely to the cloud. NuCypher's core technology is called Proxy Re-Encryption (PRE), which allows end-to-end data encryption, where a proxy entity converts encrypted data from key to key ("re-encryption") without decrypting the source data. PRE ensures that data owners can grant and revoke access to private data.

In 2017, NuCypher developed the company into a blockchain-based operator integrating smart contract technology, threshold cryptography, and a token-based decentralized infrastructure model, establishing PRE as a decentralized protocol. Today, NuCypher's PRE technology is focused on providing encrypted access control for distributed applications and protocols, rather than traditional data-sensitive industries like healthcare and traditional finance.



merge


M&A Landscape:

In traditional finance, mergers and acquisitions constitute the competitiveness of some of the largest banks and financial institutions and act as catalysts for lucrative bonus programs pursued by Wall Street investment bankers. According to Reuters, 2021 was a record year for mergers and acquisitions, with 62,193 deals worth more than $5.8 trillion in cumulative deal value, up 64 percent from 2020 and surpassing the previous record of $4.55 trillion set in 2007.

The profitability of M&A deals, coupled with the growing number of blockchain-based projects these days, is expected to play a big role in crypto, not surprisingly, as winners gain share and find resources together more effective than competitors. But what are the prospects for M&A in the crypto space under a non-traditional ownership model driven by the community rather than the board?

As with most cryptocurrencies, the definition of M&A varies by announcement, and often looks different from Google buying a private startup for technology or Sprint's merger with t-Mobile, which hopes to take stakes from AT&t and Verizon.

Crypto M&A can take many different forms, and in 2021, the field has taken its first steps into the M&A world. Alameda Research's acquisition of RenVM's tech team is essentially a team-wide hiring spree, bringing the Ren team into the Alameda team and prioritizing the team's focus on interoperability with the Solana ecosystem. Yearn.finance has announced multiple "mergers" that are better described as platform integrations rather than outright mergers or mutual purchases. In terms of acquisitions, Polygon has been aggressively pursuing acquisitions, acquiring Hermez Network and Mir for $250 million and $400 million, respectively.

When it comes to truly decentralized M&A, the scope gets even smaller. Recently, Fei Protocol and Rari Capital agreed to integrate their platforms in an effort to occupy the liquidity supply space. Rari’s RGT tokens will be exchanged for TRIBE at a ratio of 10:267, with Fei Protocol taking all responsibility for Rari in connection with the $10 million theft of the platform in May 2021.

From a governance standpoint, TRIBE and RGT holders appear to be largely in a position where the proposal received 90% in favor of the Fei Protocol community and 93% in Rari members. Now, as the Rari and Fei communities move forward with their merger from a product and governance perspective, let's dive into one of the earliest mergers in this space, consisting of NuCypher and KEEP - into Threshold.