The EY and Polygon organizations update source code for blockchain privacy-based protocol Nightfall

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Developers can use the Nightfall source code to create privacy-enabled transactions on the public Ethereum blockchain

The EY and Polygon organizations have updated the public domain source code for Nightfall to enable the development of privacy-focused enterprise blockchain solutions. Nightfall is an Optimistic Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Roll-Up that helps enable private transactions on the public Ethereum blockchain. Using Nightfall, enterprises can orchestrate private transactions efficiently on the Ethereum mainnet without compromising the transparency, data immutability and security that Ethereum provides.

Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader, says:

“This update marks the readiness of Nightfall to enable development of enterprise solutions. With more than six months of testnet operations, we consider this a ‘production beta’, ready for enabling client supply chain and business operations.”

EY first contributed Nightfall to the public domain in 2019 as a set of protocols for enabling private transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. In September 2021, EY teamed up with Polygon to create a beta version of Nightfall that can mitigate network congestion and high transaction prices resulting from increased usage and wider adoption of Ethereum. EY core software and service offerings in the global blockchain market – EY OpsChain and EY Blockchain Analyzer – use Nightfall, and both are delivered through EY Blockchain’s SaaS platform, Blockchain.ey.com.

This version of Nightfall introduces two important changes over prior versions: First, to prevent control by an organization or group, the code can be deployed on a fully decentralized basis. Second, to prevent anonymous usage while retaining an open and permissionless network model, users are required to have an enterprise-class X.509 identification certificate to deposit or withdraw. X.509 certificates are a widely adopted open standard for identification used on the internet and are available through many different certificate authorities.

Nightfall will remain in the public domain to facilitate the adoption of privacy-focused enterprise solutions among companies seeking to enter Ethereum and conduct meaningful business on the network.

Antoni Martin, Polygon Co-founder responsible for Nightfall says:

“The move to update Nightfall in the public domain is a major milestone in scaling the Ethereum ecosystem and will open up new use cases for enterprises in Web3.”

The source code for Nightfall (renamed Nightfall D3) and supporting tools are in the public domain and are available on Github.

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