Over 20 different blockchain networks have united to form a coalition to spread awareness on critical aspects of privacy-focused technologies enabling data protection and private computing. Intending to educate the public, the DeCC Alliance proposes the recognition of a new category for a growing Web3 technology, Decentralized Confidential Computing (DeCC) to help differentiate between the different projects broadly classified as “privacy coins” or “privacy chains” from those enabling arbitrary decentralized computations, such as smart contracts or off-chain AI workers, without exposing the user data.The coalition comprises more than 20 members including Acurast, Aleo, Arcium Automata, Fairblock, Fhenix, iExec, Inco, Integritee, Intmax, Marlin, Mind Network, Oasis, Partisia, Phala, Secret Network, Swisstronik, TEN, Ternoa and Zama. DeCC seeks to educate the public on the powerful capabilities of Decentralized Confidential Computing and proposes the acronym DeCC to distinguish it.
Over the past few years, data protection and confidential execution of smart contracts have evolved far beyond the label of “privacy coins” or “privacy chains”. There is a clear need for distinction between projects that focus on transactional privacy and those that focus on confidential and encrypted computing. The DeCC projects provide the ability to create smart contracts with encrypted data, perform arbitrary on-chain and off-chain calculations with confidentiality, and store confidential information on a blockchain, far more powerful than simply sending a token privately.
In early 2024, multiple projects came together and proposed the need to work towards creating awareness and improving public knowledge of technologies enabling confidential computing. The group first met at ETH Denver and has since snowballed into a larger coalition with a complete alignment of interests.
After several weeks of open discussion, the group moved to a formal vote, conducted on April 4, 2024. Following the overwhelming consensus, the term DeCC (Decentralized Confidential Computing) was finalized as the broad category name for all projects that operate in the space. DeCC encompasses multiple types of encryption technologies, and solutions aimed at improved data protection, secure and confidential calculations, verifiable computing, and more. Some of the technologies used by the companies in the field include TEE (Trusted Execution Environment), ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proofs), MPC (Multi-Party Computation), and FHE (Fully Homomorphic Encryption). The key is that they enable data to be computed confidentially and in a completely decentralized manner.
The dynamic DeCC Alliance plans to raise awareness through “DeCC Day” at important industry events across the globe. The first such event was conducted at NFT.NYC, followed by Consensus in Austin. The DeCC Alliance is all set to participate in upcoming events at ETHCC in Brussels and Futurist in Toronto. With a strong emphasis on creating awareness and educating the public, the group is expected to include DeCC Day at Token2049 and DevCon, among others.
Many DeCC projects share the overarching goal of making blockchains more suitable for conducting business by ensuring confidentiality and protection of sensitive or owned data. In contrast, most leading blockchain networks today are radically transparent, making mainstream adoption difficult to achieve.
Quotes from members of the DeCC Alliance
Arcium: “On-chain data privacy is a complex challenge for public blockchains, hindering the broader adoption of decentralized and permissionless systems. Many solutions have faced significant trade-offs between privacy, centralized trust, and performance. At Arcium, we aim to make DeCC both flexible and fast, delivering this essential building block at scale. We are excited to collaborate with some of the brightest minds to make this a reality.”
TEN: “For the first time in Ethereum’s history we now have practical and easy privacy solutions. No new languages for developers to learn. No new tooling required. The work done by DeCC projects will set a new standard for Web3 applications,” said Gavin Thomas, co-founder of Obscuro Labs and contributor to TEN “The TEN team, like the other DeCC projects, have worked tirelessly to bring this innovation to life, and we’re excited to see how it will empower developers and users alike.”
Acurast: “Centralized trust is ubiquitous in today’s interconnected world, from computational resources to data storage and its underlying infrastructure. Large-scale data leaks and breaches have shed light on these implicit trust assumptions and highlighted the need to evolve toward a permissionless, confidential, and universally decentralized cloud future, powered by blockchains. One major challenge facing blockchains of today is the effectiveness and confidentiality of the execution layer, and DeCC is the solution to this.”
Aleph Zero: “One of the greatest challenges Web3 faces today is that of data privacy. On-chain privacy is still not widely adopted, due to available solutions being mostly complex to use and isolated from the broader Web3 ecosystem. Aleph Zero is working to solve this, and we fully believe that DeCC is essential to the future Web3.”
iExec: “Data is often processed out of owners’ reach, leaving them without control over its protection, use, or benefits. iExec Dev Tools solve this with privacy-enhancing technologies like confidential computing. They simplify leveraging DeCC’s power, allowing users to maintain complete data ownership, encrypt end-to-end, and benefit from their data’s value.”
Oasis: “DeCC represents a significant evolution in blockchain technology, moving beyond mere transactional privacy to enable secure, confidential execution of smart contracts. Oasis Foundation is proud to be part of this pioneering coalition, as we believe DeCC will revolutionize data protection and computation in the Web3 space.”
Secret Network: “Ethereum changed the world when it introduced the concept of smart contracts running on a blockchain. This made it possible to not only create decentralized payment systems like Bitcoin but also decentralized computing applications. However, since that time most blockchain technology has required all data to be fully transparent and public. While this is fine for some applications, for others it’s a massive limitation. DeCC solves this, unlocking new possibilities for Web3 by enabling smart contracts to utilize encrypted data, paving the way for mainstream adoption. Secret Network aims to provide DeCC to all of Web3.”
Swisstronik: “Most Web3 product builders find it hard and costly to keep up with the ever-changing, fragmented crypto regulations. Moreover, they’re forced to choose between user privacy & decentralization, and compliance. App users also have a hard choice to make. They have to either rely on centralized parties and risk their personal data while passing identity checks; Or stay in the grey area of the crypto industry, filled with fraudsters and numerous risks. Swisstronik solves this through DeCC, providing a set of tools that strike a balance between user privacy, regulatory compliance and decentralization.”
Ternoa: “Ternoa is a multi-network and cross-layer protocol leveraging DeCC technologies to make blockchain more secure, private and scalable. Our tech stack combines distributed ledger and confidential computing technologies to provide a decentralized yet private development environment for next generation applications.”