Review on Enigma by Nate Mielnik

Name: Enigma
Item: Enigma
Rating: 5

February 01, 2018

This is my #1 pick for a hidden gem in all of cryptos. I think Secure…

This is my #1 pick for a hidden gem in all of cryptos.  I think Secure Multiparty Computation has been waiting since the 90's for the right use case and this group at MIT has been thinking about this for many years.  Having spent a lot of time working in the authentication space, I think not having to store user's private data while building an application is a monumental achievement and can systematically change the way companies build applications.  I LOVE that they've already launched the Catalyst platform too, to prove that they don't just have their heads in the clouds and they can actually deliver something.  I'm a huge fan of this project
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Pros

Secure Multiparty Computation is an extremely exciting concept that has been around for a while but hasn't found the right use case until this group from MIT found it. The ability to execute code without it ever having access to your private information is a really big deal (IMO). The fact that they've already launched a functional product on top of this project, and the incredible power of the technology is hidden (under Catalyst) means this is truly a hidden gem. I personally see this changing the way software deals with your personal data and you no longer have to give up your identity to product just for the right to use them. I also believe the ultimate place we land with powerful application executing on blockchain is through a combination of on-chain + off-chain tech, which Enigma has also implemented here. Storing highly sensitive data within a blockchain seems like an unnecessary risk when you can instead have a hybrid combination of data in a public blockchain, and private code running locally. I won't be shy, this is one of my 5 favorite projects and one of my top 5 largest investments the moment.

Cons

The issue with someone impersonating their site during the ICO was a huge black-eye. This may keep people far away from this project, which is understandable but also requires a little more thought. As an engineer, I would be far more concerned if a vulnerability was exposed in their actual platform, but the website you're using to advertise your ICO is just not under the same level of scrutiny (with the company I work for, the security around our customer product is just always at a higher level than the place where we advertise what we're selling since we don't have user data at stake there).