Bitfinex in collaboration with Hypercore and Tether (USDT) has launched Holepunch – a fully encrypted platform for building peer-to-peer applications. This alliance has also introduced an encrypted application called Keet which is capable of facilitating real-time audio and video calls, text chat, and file sharing.
Bitfinex, Hypercore, and Tether want to break technology monopolies with Holepunch and bestow control over data. The development of the Holepunch platform was funded by Bitfinex and Tether. Paolo Ardino, the chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex, will lead Holepunch as the chief strategy officer. He said the companies believe that freedom of choice, communication, and finances are the lifeblood of the future. Ardino says that anything that will enhance those freedoms is worth amplifying.
Currently, Holepunch operates as a closed source protocol in its pre-release phase. It will move onto open source code by 2022-end. The new initiative will not use blockchain technology at its core. Instead, it will move to an in-house payments API powered by the Lightning Network. Developers building solutions on the fully encrypted platform will use USDT as default for micropayments. But the company is yet to declare support for other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
More and more alliances are coming up to reap benefits from Web3. Last week, blockchain-based metaverse and Web3 platforms, formed the Open Metaverse Alliance for Web3 (OMA3). This group is built on four core principles of inclusiveness, transparency, democratization, and decentralization. It will work on specific metaverse-related topics such as setting standards for NFTs, transferable identity, etc.
