What is DeCC and Why is it so Important to Blockchain’s Future?

The cryptocurrency industry loves to criticize the birth of a new buzzword. However, catchy new terms play a key role in defining sectors within the blockchain world and help to unite and align crypto projects with similar goals.

DePIN is an excellent example of this, with dozens of previously obscure and undefinable protocols able to rebrand themselves and carve out a niche in the field following its inception.

DeCC, or Decentralized Confidential Computing, promises to be a fresh gust of wind for a host of privacy and data protection protocols. Coined by a collective alliance of over 20+ protocols, DeCC is set to breathe new life into one of the industry’s most crucial sectors.

What is DeCC?

DeCC is an elegant synthesis of a variety of data privacy and blockchain security tools and methodologies. As a whole, the sector ensures sensitive data can be processed securely without fear of exposure, tampering or exploitation.

DeCC wields a distinct advantage over Web2 confidentiality and data protection, due to its inherent distribution. By spreading sensitive data and information across multiple destinations, DeCC mitigates many of the risks associated with centralized computing.

For example, imagine credit card detail storage: A credit card number that stores each digit in separate encrypted areas is far more secure than a number stored in one location.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, DeCC encompasses a staggering variety of data security technologies, including:

• Zero-knowledge Proofs - The ability to prove something the truth or accuracy of sensitive data without revealing said data.

• Fully-Homomorphic Encryption - Data encrypted via FHE can be processed and computed without needing to be decrypted first, meaning that sensitive data remains encrypted throughout its processing cycle.

• Multi-Party Computation - A method of computation wherein several parties collaboratively contribute to a result without having access to the entire dataset. MPC is like making a dish with three different chefs, but each chef only has access to their part of the recipe.

• Trusted Execution Environment - A secure area inside a main processor where data can be processed in a secure enclave. TEEs are already common in traditional confidential computing, but can work in conjunction with DeCC’s additional tools to enhance privacy and data security.

However, despite significant progress being made in onchain privacy and security, the question needs to be asked: Isn’t transparency one of the central pillars of the blockchain world?

Equilibrium, a popular blockchain infrastructure provider, argues that “privacy is a prerequisite for expanding the design space of blockchains beyond the current speculative meta.” 

In short, the inclusion and development of privacy and hidden onchain states enables “new and (hopefully) more meaningful use cases to exist on top of blockchains.”

How Does DeCC Improve Existing Crypto Sectors?

The DeCC Alliance, a collective of 20+ blockchain privacy and data security projects, joined forces earlier this year. The group aims to educate crypto users on the importance of DeCC applications and demystify the confusion around these crucial protocols.

DeCC brings a wealth of benefits to the chief concerns facing some of the industry’s largest sectors. Privacy advocates contend that integration of DeCC technologies can vastly enhance the onchain experience in a variety of fields:

• DeFi - DeCC enables permissionless protocols to offer users a complete range of services, without exposing sensitive information to their counter-parties. For example, publicly-known liquidation prices on large positions can easily become targets in decentralized markets, opening the door to manipulation and scam wick attacks.

• DePIN - DeCC allows for privacy preserving computation within DePINs, which often include confidential personal data.

• AI - AI Healthcare stands to be one of the biggest benefactors of DeCC integration. Medical data is highly sensitive information, which has become a common target for cybercriminals. DeCC adds additional security to AI-assisted healthcare practices, enabling secured and encrypted data to be processed at scale without exposing confidential data.

Arcium’s Role in DeCC Growth

One of the founding members of the DeCC Alliance, Arcium is spearheading growth and adoption of the sector throughout the crypto industry. Arcium’s confidential computing network aims to provide scalable and composable infrastructure, offering new levels of privacy in the onchain world.

While upholding key industry values like permissionless and trustlessness, Arcium provides developers and applications with a confidential framework that allows them to run encrypted computations at high throughput.

While designed to be chain-agnostic, Arcium will use the Solana blockchain as its consensus layer. The Arcium Network will leverage Solana-based programs to register and configure the protocol’s Arx nodes, which run MPC technology to collectively process encrypted data.

One could argue that DeCC might just be another buzzword used to reinvigorate an overlooked sector of the industry. However, the reality is that many DeCC protocols may have been mislabelled as AI or DePIN coins in the past. 

DeCC offers a fresh start for dozens of crypto projects, both old and new, to establish themselves as key contributors to an emerging sector and deliver improved data security and privacy onchain in the years to come.

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