A bullock-branded, anonymity focused protocol is proving its worth in a battle for animal-themed cryptocurrency. It is faster, safer, and more secure than the joke coin with shiba Inu faces that rose to the top of the charts this year. This is largely due to Elon Musk’s memes.
The Oxen privacy currency does not discriminate against animals. One, speed. OXEN’s block time for DOGE is only one minute, while OXEN’s takes two. Oxen can also use the OXEN default setting of Blink technology to make transactions almost instantaneous.
Oxen also switched to a more eco-friendly proof-of–stake (PoS), consensus mechanism than the power-hungry Proof-of–work (PoW), technology DOGE shares with Bitcoin. Oxen also uses staked service Nodes that can be used for powering blockchain-based, mass-market-focused DApps, such as the anonymous messaging DApp Session or Tor-challenging Router Lokinet, which Oxen has already launched.
Oxen was created with anonymity in mind. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware hackers discovered that Oxen is not inherently in transparent, pseudonymous Bitcoin. After the FBI stole $2.3million in ransomed bitcoin, DOGE was actually a joke.
“Although DOGE may be a meme, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not useful,” Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation head Alex Linton wrote June 2 in a stirring example. “DOGE has attracted a new wave of cryptocurrency enthusiasts and is one of the easiest entry points to the space. People who are serious about blockchain will seek out projects that have an underlying purpose. Projects like Oxen can help with this.
Privacy first, privacy second, privacy always
The core of Oxen is privacy. It uses three core techniques to keep anonymity. It uses ring signatures to replace the private keys Bitcoin or its ilk use for transactions. However, these private keys can be verified using public keys which makes it possible to track Bitcoin addresses. These keys do not identify the owner but can be linked with exchange wallets which can often be traced. Ten signers can be created by ring signatures — nine of which are decoys.
Stealth addresses are also used by Oxen. They create a unique address for each transaction that can then be used to accept a transfer, without having to reveal a public address. It uses RingCT protocol for concealing the transaction size.
Private browsing, private chatting
OXEN coin aside. The blockchain is intended to host privacy-preserving DApps (including two Oxen created). They’re not an afterthought — Oxen was founded during a bearish market and has concentrated on quality products outside its core blockchain.
Session, a messaging service that is available on iOS, Android, and desktop, supports anonymous messaging. It does not require a phone number or email account to sign up. Open-source DApp reduces the amount of often-identifying metadata, which can be seen even in encrypted messages. It also offers secure encryption and Tor-style onion routing protocols. Over the past year, it has seen 100,000 active users per month.
Lokinet encrypts your internet traffic multiple times and then secures and private routes it through a network of service nodes. All of these service nodes are part of Oxen, and are incentivized for providing good service. Lokinet uses the Internet’s fundamental fabric, IP packets. It can therefore use any IP-based protocol, and work seamlessly with all applications, including web browsers, email client, IoT devices and others.
