Threshold Network's latest app, Threshold Access Control (TACo) 🌮

Welcome to edition #15 of the Threshold Time! It’s all about TACo, the latest application to be hosted on the Threshold Network. We’re approaching TACo’s mainnet launch and this is the perfect time to start learning about this pioneering technology.

Let’s jump in, what is TACo?

TACo is a plug-in service that enables the sharing of any form of private or sensitive data within Web3 applications. Private data is encrypted by a data owner and remains encrypted until it reaches the device of a recipient. From a privacy point of view, it is comparable to the end-to-end encryption protocol that a mobile messaging service like Signal is built upon.

Whether or not a recipient qualifies to see a given piece of data depends on whether they are able to show that they fulfill certain conditions. These conditions are chosen in advance by the owner of that data, and often (but not only) involve buying, receiving and holding a special-purpose NFT.

We assert that TACo (Threshold Access Control) is the only end-to-end encrypted data sharing and communication protocol that is both programmable and decentralized. So it can be integrated into almost any use case, and unlike other protocols and apps on the market, there’s no requirement to trust a centralized authority – who might unilaterally deny service or even decrypt private user data! TACo is the only access control layer available to Web3 developers that is run on live, well-collateralized and battle-tested network like Threshold.

TACo Townhall: September 28th, 10:30am ET, Threshold Discord

Arjun Hassard will lead a Townhall on the Threshold discord that will introduce TACo to the community. We'll cover everything you need to know as a potential TACo staker. There will be presentations and demos from some of TACo's early adopters, and an open Q&A for stakers.

Why stake on the genesis version of TACo?

• TACo fills a big gap in the Web3 stack – a way to manage who gets to see sensitive user data, without compromising on privacy or trust.

• TACo will launch as an invite-only beta, featuring a select group of early adopters; including wallet recovery, dev tooling and digital rights management.

• Adopters pay the network for staker availability from genesis. There's no free tier, so the DAO will see revenue in the beta.

• To earn the full Stable Yield (15% APY), you must authorize and run tBTC & TACo nodes. PRE services will be folded into TACo.
  
  Thinking of staking a Threshold node or already staking? Take this survey. Your answers are immensely helpful as we develop the service-side and demand-side markets for TACo.

Townhall Agenda (ET)

10:30am - Intro to TACo Access Control
10:35am - Why stake on TACo?
10:45am - Masterfile (Demo)
10:55am - Holonym
11:00am - Nosana
11:05am - Adopter Q&A
11:20am - General staking Q&A
~11:30am - Wrap

Again, this is happening in the Threshold Discord. If you’re not in discord click here to join.

MacLane Wilkison on Redefining Trust in a Decentralized World & TACo Explainer:

Threshold cryptography involves dividing cryptographic operations like signatures and encryption among multiple independent actors, enhancing trust in applications by reducing reliance on single entities.

This is especially valuable in blockchain, enabling censorship resistance and trust minimization. It's useful for content access control in decentralized platforms, ensuring only paying users can access content. Threshold Access Control (TACo) is vital for web3 platforms that aim to compete with centralized ones, as it prevents single points of failure.

First use of TACo in the wild:

September 8, 2023, marked a novel intersection of music and technology as Justin Holmes’ debut bluegrass album, Vowel Sounds, was decrypted using Threshold Access Control (TACo) after Holmes’ fans contributed 10eth ($16,389 USD at press time) to a smart contract built for this purpose. The record’s reveal was entirely on-chain and permissionless, with no action from Holmes or the studio required after it was submitted.

To release Vowel Sounds, Holmes and a group of passionate friends, fans, and fellow bluegrass musicians developed Revealer, a technology they say is more in keeping with the traditional public domain model of Appalachian music, and used the record as the first trial of the technology on Threshold’s “lynx” testnet, which is available for public use now. Two of the core contributors to Revealer - Holmes and fellow Americana aficionado Kieran Prasch, are also long-time contributors to Threshold.

How did the Revealer Contract work with Threshold Network and the Album drop? Read the entire post here

Stay Connected

Join us on our various platforms to stay connected, engage, and collaborate with the Threshold community:

• Discord: Join Here

• Twitter: Threshold Twitter

Thank you for being a valuable part of the Threshold community. We look forward to seeing your contributions and engagement in the upcoming months!