Masks Community, the protocol that enables customers to ship encrypted messages, cryptocurrencies and even dapps over Twitter and Fb, introduced a
Masks Community, the protocol that enables customers to ship encrypted messages, cryptocurrencies and even dapps over Twitter and Fb, introduced a $2 million funding spherical Tuesday co-led by HashKey and Hash International.
Different contributors included Alameda Analysis, Sino International and private buyers like Balaji Srinivasan, who touted the community again in September.
“Sure, you’re utilizing Twitter, Fb or ultimately Reddit, however you’ll notice your image and your file by no means existed on these platforms,” Masks Community founder Suji Yan advised CoinDesk in an interview, translated from Mandarin.
The corporate lately engaged its Twitter group with random attracts of 538 election-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs). (The variety of Trump and Biden playing cards issued mirrors the variety of Electoral School votes every candidate ended up successful.)
“We received into this election NFT recreation to show to extra customers that Net 3.Zero can be utilized on Net 2.0,” Yan advised CoinDesk.
The protocol presently has over 800,000 downloads throughout its product suite however solely 30,000 lively customers. Yan says that’s as a result of solely crypto-native consultants actually perceive the product.
Masks Community presently companions with firms comparable to Arweave to ship encrypted information and MakerDAO for customers to ship DAI by way of Twitter “pink envelopes,” which founder Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin took benefit of this Chinese language New Yr.
Yan advised CoinDesk the funding spherical will assist the corporate to decentralize and accomplice with different firms so as to add extra features over the following two quarters.
“Think about how highly effective it could be if Sq. constructed their perform on Twitter by MetaMask,” Yan stated. “After we’re totally decentralized, they gained’t want us to construct that.”
Turning into a totally decentralized firm would additionally allow the Shanghai-based startup to draw extra Chinese language customers, by constructing MetaMask’s present options onto Chinese language social media apps like WeChat or Weibo.
“Our present centralized working mannequin may be very harmful in China,” Yan advised CoinDesk. By means of a future launch of a governance token, the Masks staff hopes to ease the danger of being deplatformed.
“They will kill us however they’ll’t kill a DAO or a file on Arweave,” Yan stated.
This present funding spherical additionally included many Chinese language buyers. Yan stated the rationale for that could be as a result of “U.S. VCs appear to be afraid that Fb is concerned.”
The corporate additionally has plans to launch “Preliminary Twitter Choices” earlier than the top of this 12 months. It would permit customers to find new token launches and buy the tokens – all with out leaving Twitter.
Lead investor HashKey stated by way of Telegram, “We firmly consider that the Masks staff will preserve this wonderful world by pursuing liberty of encryption and privateness.”
Certainly, Yan stated the corporate’s final aim is to attain a declaration of independence in our on-line world.
“As we speak in 2020, we lastly noticed an woke up want for independence of governance on social media,” Yan stated. “The one factor that’s lacking is a portal to a brand new, open web.”