- 2018: Inception of the Nym mixnet
- 2019: First mixnodes and validators onboarded after launch at Chaos Computer Congress
- Pre-seed funding round, led by Binance Labs: 2.5M CHF
- Nym Litepaper published
- Mixnet built in Rust for better performance
- Tokenized “Nymph” testnet open to public
- Nym wallet and explorers launched

The beginnings: Cypherpunks dream of mixnets

- Finney and Milhon testnets completed
- Nym [whitepaper](https://nymtech.net/nym-whitepaper.pdf) published
- Closed Polychain led seed round funding - 6M CHF
- Closed a16z led funding round - 13M CHF
- Nyx chain launched
- Token generation event
- Nym tokenized mainnet live

The year of the Mainnet: Dawn of a new era in privacy

**NYM token and tooling**
- NYM token public sale on CoinList
- Mix nodes, staking, token liquidity, and custody introduced into Nym ecosystem
- New [Nym Wallet](https://nymtech.net/download/wallet) released
- NymConnect app released via SOCKS5 proxy
- Nym clients enabling custom integrations released
- Nym tokenomics paper published: Reward sharing for mixnets
- Telegram, Electrum Wallet, Matrix, and Keybase integrations via NymConnect

**Community foundations**
- [Universal Privacy Alliance](https://privacyalliance.com/) co-founded with Manta, Secret, Orchid, ECC, Status, Oasis, Aztec, Aleo, MobileCoin, Anoma and Railgun
- First Nym Shipyard Academy with 6k participants
- First round of Shipyard grants
- Nym Innovation Fund launched

Incentivising privacy: the NYM token in action

**Nym tooling**
- Rust and typescript SDKs released
- Zk-nyms announced at SXSW
- Mixfetch launched
- Nym SDK released
- [NymVPN Litepaper](https://nymvpn.com/en/nymVPN-litepaper.pdf) published
- NymVPN presented at Chaos Communication Congress
- [Nymvpn.com](https://nymvpn.com/en) launched

**The Nym Network**
- Ecosystem in Latin America established, growing to 30+ nodes in the region
- Nym Shipyard Academy with 2000+ registrations
- Nymja ambassador program launched
- Nym mixnet integrations with Blockstream green, Monero, Alephium wallets
- Chainsafe partnership for shielded Ethereum consensus clients
- Partnerships with Side protocol, Aztec, Near, and Woleet
- London and Paris offices opened
- First community censorship tests
- Delegations Program (30M NYM) launched to support decentralization and Nym node operator growth


Mixnet decentralisation: Nym becomes a global privacy community

**Launch NymVPN**
- NymVPN blog launched
- NymVPN Alpha launched for private testing
- NymVPN [Help Center and Customer Support](https://support.nymvpn.com/hc/en-us) launched
- NymVPN Beta launched for free, public testing
- Android, Linux, and Windows localizations in 10+ languages
- NymVPN Fast Mode integrated with WireGuard protocol
- Censorship resistance research project started
- Launch of [Nym Trust Center](https://nymvpn.com/en/trust-center)

**Grow the Nym Network & Community**
- Nym Squad League launched
- “Project Smoosh” enables operators to run both mixnode and gateway mode
- New rewards scheme for Nym nodes with gateway rewarding
- First public security audit of the Nym network
- Nym Delegations Program scaled up with rolling registrations, community-built applicant management system, and an increased budget of 40m NYM
- New Nym node operator tooling
- Nym Operators and Validators Terms & Conditions
- Scale to 30+ entry and exit gateways 

**On the stove**
- Commercial launch of NymVPN and first paying customers
- Launch zk-nyms for unlinkability 
- Nym rebrand and new consolidated Nym web presence on nym.com
- Address network leaks on DNS and IPv6
- Develop mixnet integrations for key blockchains like Celestia & Aleo
- Complete Zcash integration

Launching NymVPN: The privacy app the world needs

**New NymVPN features**
- Censorship resistance
- Killswitch and lockdown mode
- Split tunneling
- Ad blocker

**Improving the Nym network**
- Scale NymVPN to 100k users
- Scale to 50+ entry and exit gateways
- Censorship resistant gateways and extended gateway use cases
- Post-quantum security
- Extend mixnet support to blockchains
- Partner with reliable privacy apps like Signal messenger and Brave browser
- Secure key management and optimization

Privacy for everyone, everywhere

Stories by Nym on Medium

<h4>Bootstrapping the Nym treasury ahead of NymVPN launch</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*j0zzrO6rQR6FM0oxjK92Gg.jpeg"></figure>In the lead up to the launch of NymVPN on 12 December 2024, Nym will be conducting a token buyback of $1 million USD in NYM from the market. The goal is simple: boost the Nym treasury while the price of NYM is advantageous and use it to improve the Nym network ahead of launch. With payments for NymVPN live in December, there will then be a perpetual NYM buyback organically linked to the demand for and usage of the app.
<h3>What is a token buyback, and why do it?</h3>
A token buyback occurs when a seller buys back their own tokens as a means to restrict overall supply and boost their treasury. There is currently an oversupply of NYM tokens on the market with the price therefore not reflecting real demand and usage.
<blockquote>“As we announced on 5 November five years ago in our initial litepaper,” Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym Technologies notes, “the entire point of the NYM token launch was to build the supply side of the decentralized network of servers that the NymVPN is built on. Of course, without NymVPN taking payments and converting them to NYM tokens as demanded, there are simply too many NYM tokens out there.”</blockquote>
In light of the upcoming NymVPN and taking advantage of a bearish crypto market, Nym will be conducting a token buyback during the month leading up to launch. Doing so will replenish Nym’s warchest to supercharge the app, network, and operators.
<blockquote>“A 1 million dollar buyback,” Halpin clarifies, “should remove much of the existing NYM from the market. I am excited to see NymVPN turn on a buyback from payments in a month, so this 1 million buyback is just the beginning.”</blockquote>
The up to 20 million NYM that Nym will buyback over the next month will be directed toward core goals:
<ul>
<li>marketing to boost consumer awareness of NymVPN</li>
<li>reward network operators in order to improve the Nym network on which the app runs</li>
<li>offer NymVPN services to people like journalists and activists who urgently need advanced privacy protections.</li>
</ul>
<h3>More than VPN, more than a token</h3>
NymVPN is much more than a VPN: it is a decentralized and token-incentived community of operators that can provide privacy protections, such as safeguarding metadata records, that no other network can. Traditional VPNs are powerless in the face of artificial intelligence (AI), and no other privacy service runs on a Noise-Generating Mixnet (NGM). By adding “noise” to the network, NymVPN can provide everyday web users with a tool sophisticated enough to defend themselves against AI-powered surveillance and metadata harvesting.
The NYM token also is much more than a token: it is what <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-value-of-nym-the-spice-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-10b0055dfe70">incentivizes the whole decentralized network</a>. Network operators are rewarded in NYM for their services in anonymizing user traffic, and each user payment for NymVPN is converted into NYM tokens to delink a user’s payment from their usage of the app. Each new subscription will <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-nym-token-flow-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-48c15db379c5">trigger more NYM buy orders</a> as well as fully anonymized VPN use.
<h3>What to expect next</h3>
The buyback over the next month will be a crucial test for the beginning of a perpetual buyback mechanism to start with NymVPN payments, all of which will be converted to NYM tokens through buy orders. By restricting token supply, the price of NYM can then be linked more closely to usage and demand.
Here’s what to expect in the next month:
<ul>
<li>Harry Halpin will be demoing the latest stable version of NymVPN at WebSummit (Lisbon) and DevCon (Thailand) next week</li>
<li>Anyone can <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">now sign up</a> for a free 1-month pass to use NymVPN Beta</li>
<li>Payments will be live on 12 December 2024, commencing the process of NYM buy orders from user subscriptions</li>
</ul>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*N-JEZHhFj8VRMoiK"></figure>As NymVPN enters the market and the network is actually used by ordinary people, more servers in different countries will likely be needed with much higher capacity to match demand. These servers will be fueled by NYM tokens provided by the expanded treasury. In addition, as all users will be allowed to use the network for a month for free due to the US elections, the buyback mechanism will allow the fine-tuning of the future payment-driven buyback process while NymVPN is still free.
Don’t miss your chance to <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">get your free 30 day voucher today</a>! And stay private friends.
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=33e3ec88c4dc" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-token-buyback-33e3ec88c4dc">NYM token buyback</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

NYM token buyback

<h4>Statement from Harry Halpin, CEO, to you, the world</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*Z9vTk8nK40mz9lwj"></figure>There’s been a lot of discussion and worry worldwide over the coming results of the U.S. election. But no matter if Trump or Harris wins, one thing is certain: surveillance and oppression at the hands of increasingly authoritarian governments will continue to rise.
Nym exists to support freedom fighters in the United States and across the world, so Nym is offering a 30 day free pass over the next month to anyone who wants to protect their privacy online. Whatever your political situation is, protecting your privacy and data online matters, and few tools these days can do something to help. Nym offers more: a decentralized network built for the age of AI-powered surveillance.
<h3>Getting NymVPN</h3>
To take advantage of the 30 day free trial, all you need to do is download NymVPN directly from <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">Nym’s site</a> with a free and immediate access credential.
But Nym recognizes that getting genuine privacy into people’s hands requires using all available routes, so Nym will also be launching a full version of NymVPN in Apple Store, Google Play, and F-Froid this month. While Big Tech companies like Apple and Google are problematic as some of the major data harvesters, we consider this necessary to defend activists, independent journalists, and ordinary citizens by offering a fully decentralized VPN with an <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">Anonymous Mode</a> that can defend against state-level surveillance, even from the US government.
NymVPN is the only kind of VPN that can defend against the American government’s National Security Agency which can capture and analyze every internet connection using AI to detect exactly what website someone is visiting. Nym counteracts this by adding so much noise to the network that your signals and pattern can’t be discerned: not by governments, data brokers, or passive adversaries.
<h3>NymVPN stable release</h3>
As the CEO of Nym Technologies, I will be presenting a full and stable version of NymVPN on November 12th at DevCon in Bangkok, at the “Centralized VPNs are Scams and What to do About it” talk, and then on November 13th at Web Summit in Lisbon with Chelsea Manning, which will also include a press conference to train journalists in how to defend themselves online.
This stable version will also introduce the zk-nym anonymous credential system in the lead up to the launch of payments in December. Note that while NymVPN is stable, there may still be errors and bugs to be fixed in the next month as the decentralized Nym network has never handled large amounts of traffic. All of your help using the app will go a long way to improving it in the coming months.
<h3>NYM and NymVPN</h3>
In order to have more rewards for high-performing network nodes and optimize the algorithms that convert fiat to NYM, more NYM tokens have to be purchased before payments are turned on in December. The details of this NYM token buyback will be announced tomorrow, 5 November 2024. A smart contract upgrade will also be done to reward gateways this month.
Remember, the value of NYM is concretely <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-value-of-nym-the-spice-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-10b0055dfe70">linked to the use and success of NymVPN</a>. The more users subscribe to use the app in their currency of choice, the <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-nym-token-flow-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-48c15db379c5">more NYM buy orders will be triggered</a>.
The NymVPN will then have payments turned on in December before Christmas. NymVPN will accept fiat (including credit cards), Bitcoin, Monero, and — of course! — NYM tokens. All payments will then be converted to NYM token buy orders on the open market. All payments will then result in a zero-knowledge proof, a zk-nym, that will unlink the payment of NymVPN from their use. Payments for a month to make sure the payment system can handle high-capacity.
In the meantime, keep your heads high, and your data protected. Remember, remember the 5th of November!
– Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym Technologies
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=9189e4a47d3d" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/no-matter-who-wins-nymvpn-is-free-for-the-next-month-to-fight-for-freedom-9189e4a47d3d">No matter who wins: NymVPN is free for the next month to fight for freedom</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No matter who wins: NymVPN is free for the next month to fight for freedom

<h4>Weekly progress on the NymVPN and Nym network</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*UOL4HU9B0OdGZEIq"></figure>The Nym dev team here for our weekly roundup of achievements, progress, and things still simmering: bug and leak fixes, app and network improvements, and readying the zk-nym infrastructure for payments.
But don’t miss the forest for the trees: here are the big milestones the team is moving toward on its <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-roadmap-through-2024">timeline</a> for NymVPN finishing out 2024:
<ul>
<li>
November, 2024: The newest release of NymVPN Beta with the launch of zk-nyms anonymous credentials</li>
<li>
December, 2024: Early bird launch of NymVPN with payments</li>
</ul>
In the meantime, NymVPN Beta is still open and free to use, so <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">sign up today</a> for an instant credential if you haven’t tried it yet!
<h3>NymVPN</h3>
The big focus this week has been preparing November’s stable release of NymVPN so it is as secure and seamless as possible when it arrives in community members’ hands.
<h4>Easy access to test credentials</h4>
The lengthy steps to get new credentials have been removed. Now you can simply <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">enter your email address</a> and instantly receive a free 30-day access voucher.
<h4>Connectivity improvements</h4>
The devs have made app connectivity improvements for a smoother and more reliable connection experience. This has been done via multiple bug fixes and the implementation of a more robust state machine.
<h4>Linux app on Flathub</h4>
For Linux users, the NymVPN app is <a href="https://flathub.org/apps/net.nymtech.NymVPN">available in Flathub</a> with more platforms to follow.
<h4>macOS 15 Sequoia compatibility</h4>
NymVPN is now fully compatible with the latest macOS version, v15.
<h4>New exit locations</h4>
NymVPN now offers to exit in the following locations:
<ul>
<li>
Anonymous Mode: Australia, China mainland</li>
<li>
Fast Mode: Bahrain, China mainland, Switzerland, Vietnam</li>
</ul>
<h3>Network</h3>
The main focus this week has been to ensure a top performing decentralized network that services the NymVPN client and any future usage.
<h4>Performance: Network Monitor v2</h4>
The Network Monitor is a method for measuring the reliability of nodes by testing multiple paths through the network. So far, the network monitor has been measuring 5-hop mixnet performance. This week, core devs have begun the work of adding 2-hop WireGuard performance scores.
<h4>Performance: Node status API</h4>
Work is continuing on the node status API. This is an API to ensure that the NymVPN client is continually up to date on which gateways are live, connected, and performative so that users can connect without experiencing connectivity issues.
<h4>Rewards: Validator rewards for issuing zk-nyms</h4>
Nyx validators are rewarded for running the blockchain that hosts the Nym mixnet smart contract. But their role is about to expand to also issue zk-nyms: the anonymous credentials that enable privacy preserving payments for NymVPN users. The Nym core dev team has started work this week to enable validator rewards for issuing zk-nym ticketbooks.
Read Nym’s recent deepdive into <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-nym-token-flow-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-48c15db379c5">the NYM token flow</a>, and stay tuned for a follow up explaining how zk-nyms work!
<h4>Improving public data: Nym data observatory</h4>
Work on the Nym data observatory has begun, which will improve the stability and availability of public data about Nym networks and token economics.
<h4>Tor access</h4>
Thanks to an update to the Nym exit policy, Tor can now be accessed via NymVPN on ports 9001 and 9030.
Stay tuned and join our channels for more up to date information and live discussion with the core team!
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=d046672d3256" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/sprint-to-launch-november-1-dev-update-d046672d3256">Sprint to launch: November 1 dev update</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sprint to launch: November 1 dev update

<h4>Delivering value to NymVPN users, operators, and builders</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*U_k5tpb-bKRd2DBp"></figure>In the turbulent seas of crypto speculation, the NYM token is the center of a novel experiment in tokenomics for a new generation of online privacy technology.
NYM is not just a cryptocurrency: it is a unique utility token linked to a <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">concrete product</a> designed to meet a real world need: genuine privacy online. And there is a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/vpn-statistics/">demand for it</a>! Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) amount to an annual $50b+ industry and an estimated 1.5b users worldwide.
But Nym itself is also much more than a VPN. The large majority of VPNs are centralized infrastructures, enterprises which profit off selling user data, and closed-source codes. The Nym project offers a totally different VPN business-model: a <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-value-of-nym-the-spice-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-10b0055dfe70">token-incentivized privacy ecosystem</a>. And the NYM token is what powers the virtuous cycle:
<ol>
<li>As user subscriptions are converted to NYM tokens, the more NYM buy orders will be triggered.</li>
<li>The more NymVPN usage increases, the more NYM is rewarded to Nym operators for their service, incentivizing the increased performance of the network.</li>
<li>The higher the usage and performance of the network, the more private the entire network becomes for users.</li>
<li>The more private the network is, the more users are attracted to the project and the more NYM buy orders are generated.</li>
</ol>
Curious to know exactly how the NYM token enables genuine privacy through decentralization all the way down to payments? You’re in the right place.
<h3>Why a token?</h3>
First things first, you might be asking yourself: why not just use fiat currencies, or even BTC, if the point is to pass on payments from users to operators and teams? Because the NYM token does far more than pass on rewards. It supports a broader token economic ecosystem which is necessary to ensure good quality of service, decentralization, and delinked payments.
The NYM token, in short, facilitates unlinkability across the entire the privacy network:
<ul>
<li>
Privacy preserving payments: Payments for other VPNs risk linking a user’s financial information to their traffic. With NymVPN, all payments are delinked from a user’s use of the network. This is done through payment conversions to NYM tokens which are used to purchase anonymous credentials (zk-nyms).</li>
<li>
Surveillance free business-model: Many VPNs make revenue by selling user data, inserting ads, or allowing third parties to install cookies on user software. NymVPN runs on a zero-knowledge network where Nym knows nothing about what users do or who they are, and node operators are incentivized to abide by no-logs Terms &amp; Conditions.</li>
<li>
Permissonless and decentralized: NYM tokens enable anyone to “bond” and run a node and earn NYM rewards without needing the permission of Nym Technologies. This enables global network decentralization.
</li>
<li>
Unlinkability: Decentralization enables Nym to offer strong anonymity to end users by making sure no one controls the full path of communication. Users will remain unlinkable to what they do online and with whom they communicate.</li>
</ul>
This article focuses on the first two, namely (1) how a user pays for NymVPN in a privacy-preserving manner, and (2) how operators are financially rewarded to provide end-users with strong privacy rather than being financially tempted to spy on their users.
<h3>NYM token flow overview</h3>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*Ix6KZMvlwBVmS5Q-"></figure>The NYM token flow is designed to be a virtuous cycle. So let’s walk through all the stages along the way from users to operators and back again.
<h3>Step 1: User purchases NymVPN subscription</h3>
Everything starts here with users who need real online privacy. Purchasing a NymVPN subscription is the only thing a user needs to actively do. The rest is taken care of on the back-end between the NymVPN app and the Nym network.
Right now, the NymVPN app is in Beta and <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">free to download and use</a>. When payments go live, the user will select a plan (e.g., one month, a year, or two years) and pay in the manner of their choosing:
<ul>
<li>Fiat currencies (whether from debit or credit cards) *</li>
<li>Crypto (e.g., in Bitcoin or NYM itself **)</li>
<li>Online payment services (e.g., Stripe)</li>
</ul>
* You can also mail in cash if you want to not only delink your payment from usage, but also have your payments truly anonymous.
** Payments directly in NYM will receive a small discount, since this saves Nym on processing fees from online payment vendors.
<h3>Step 2: Payment converted to NYM tokens</h3>
All forms of payments for subscriptions to NymVPN, whether in fiat or crypto, are first converted into NYM tokens. But how and why is this necessary?
Payments submitted to Nym are processed and confirmed with the issuer via the Nym API. This triggers the API to conduct a buy order of NYM tokens on behalf of the user. Once the payment is confirmed between the processor and Nym, the payment will be set up for conversion into NYM tokens and deposited on the Nyx (Cosmos) chain in a general subscription account.
Keep in mind: If you pay for a NymVPN subscription in, say, a fiat currency with a debit card, you will never need to be in possession of NYM tokens: all of this is taken care of for you by the payment system.
NymVPN subscription purchases will result in NYM buy orders, thus closing the loop on the Nym token economics. There is thus a symbiotic relationship between the actual usage of NymVPN and the NYM token which yields both anonymity to users and rewards for service to operators. This is the first step in the virtuous cycle of NYM as a utility token.
<h3>Step 3: Delinking payments from usage (zk-nyms)</h3>
Use of the Nym network requires possessing authorized access credentials called zk-nyms (or zero-knowledge Nym credentials). Zk-nyms function as anonymized ticketbooks, as if you purchased a package of multiple passes to ride the metro while vacationing. Each ticketbook is composed of individual tickets that represent bandwidth. These ensure that payment details are delinked from credential issuance: no one, not even Nym, will be able to link a user’s payment details with their access credentials and, in turn, their usage of NymVPN.
Here is how they are generated: When a user’s payment is confirmed, a key pair is generated for them on Nym’s native Nyx (Cosmos) blockchain. One key is held on the user’s device (NymVPN app) and the other on-chain. This allows the Nym API to communicate between the app and the Nyx chain to validate that a user’s subscription has been paid for and is active, which triggers validators to issue zk-nym credentials associated with that key pair.
In order for a user to connect with the Nym network, the NymVPN app will simply submit valid tickets to authorize the entry of their traffic into the network. When a ticket is presented to an entry gateway, the zk-nyms on the NymVPN app simply show that there are the adequate number of valid tickets for the requested traffic. Nothing about a user’s personal payment information (name, credit or debit card information, and further details like bank or address) can be revealed: only the validity of the access credential.
<h3>Step 4: Using the mixnet</h3>
In order to gain access to the Nym network — either through NymVPN’s <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">Anonymous Mode</a> or the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/wireguard-live">Fast Mode with WireGuard</a> — all a user needs to do is:
<ul>
<li>Toggle on the desired mode in app</li>
<li>Possess a valid ticket (delivered to your app automatically with valid purchase)</li>
</ul>
When establishing a connection, the app will present the zk-nym credential to the entry gateway which, in addition to the Nym API, verifies the ticket’s validity, bandwidth fair usage,* and that it hasn’t been double-spent. Once the ticket is validated, a user’s encrypted traffic will then be routed through either of the selected routing procedures.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*KKmURVjCZwzxqgqk"></figure><h3>Step 5: Operator rewards</h3>
The Nym mixnet is operated by independent people all over the world who run nodes to route user traffic and provide them with unparalleled online privacy.
But unlike <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-v-vpns-v-tor-v-i2p-v-dvpns-how-do-they-compare">other decentralized networks like Tor</a> which rely on volunteers, Nym node operators are rewarded for their service in NYM tokens for the traffic they handle in every epoch. Token incentives ensure that nodes perform well for users: running the latest binary, providing stable connections, etc.
Rewards in NYM also increase the decentralization of the network, since rewards are distributed from an on-chain “mixmining pool” of NYM tokens.
<h3>Summary of NYM flow</h3>
As we’ve seen, the NYM token servers multiple functions in its flow through the Nym network.
<ul>
<li>
For users, this is the first step in unlinking their payments from their usage of the NymVPN service, something which very few other online privacy services can offer.</li>
<li>
For operators and builders, this gives service providers a direct stake in the success and usage of the NymVPN and network. The tokens are used to reward nodes and the company for operating the network and maintaining the software.</li>
<li>And for the NYM token ecosystem, the real-world growth in usage of the NymVPN generates a virtuous growth cycle for the NYM token.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The NYM token: A virtuous cycle</h3>
NymVPN is the first commercial app to run on the Nym mixnet. It closes the token economic loop, effectively bringing the mixnet to market. The mixnet is a <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/depin-and-nym-a-decentralized-physical-infrastructure-network-for-privacy-e41db833816c">general purpose private traffic routing network</a> and can be used for any chain, L2, or app. As more apps are built on top of or integrated with the mixnet, the more value is generated for the ecosystem at large. This is the primary role of the NYM token: to enable a decentralized marketplace for privacy.
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=48c15db379c5" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/the-nym-token-flow-powering-the-worlds-most-private-network-48c15db379c5">The NYM token flow: Powering the world’s most private network</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The NYM token flow: Powering the world’s most private network

<h4>Weekly progress on the NymVPN and Nym network</h4>
The Nym has worked out a <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-roadmap-through-2024">rigorous timeline</a> for getting NymVPN and the network in shape for launch this year.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*-b2FF44qjTdQBd6f"></figure>And before the end of the year, there are key milestones along the way that the Nym community, beta testers, and NYM token holders can look forward to:
November 2024: The newest release of NymVPN beta with the launch of zk-nyms anonymous credentials.
December 2024: Early bird launch of NymVPN with payments.
In the meantime, NymVPN Beta is still open and free to use, so <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">sign up today</a> for an instant credential if you haven’t tried it yet!
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*Vxbn_r-ZLxMgUGn2gzHlBg.jpeg"></figure>As the Nym team and community moves into 2025, each Friday Nym will keep you all up to date on what the dev team has been working on behind the scenes and accomplished every week on the way to the full launch.
<h3>NymVPN</h3>
The NymVPN dev team is sprinting towards the release of the NymVPN stable release in mid-November!
<h4>App operability</h4>
Currently, the team is working on getting the app in tip-top-shape after all the valuable feedback from NymVPN Beta users since August. Code is being deployed to our lower testing environment to fix bugs, and the dev team is syncing deployments, resolving conflicts, and optimizing our code bases.
<h4>State machine on mainnet</h4>
The state machine will ensure the NymVPN client has a view on and can verify the network status. The dev team has successfully integrated the solid-state machine onto mainnet in the past weeks, and is moving to refining it for app-integration.
<h4>Fixing leaks</h4>
The dev team is improving the integrity of encrypted tunneling by plugging leaks across all the apps, including DNS and IPv6.
<h4>zk-nyms</h4>
The zk-nym system is being built out. This is the foundation of NymVPN privacy-preserving infrastructure, effectively unlinking user payments from their usage of the app. With zk-nyms, users can be fully unlinkable to what they do and anonymous online.
Stay tuned in the next week for deep-dives into Nym’s token flow and zk-nyms!
<h4>Stabilizing payments</h4>
The team has added stability to payment features and has moved them to lower testing environments to work out bugs. Live testing of delinked payments will begin shortly after.
<h3>Network</h3>
The main focus this week has been to ensure a top performing decentralized network that services the NymVPN client and any future usage. This involves stress tests, improved performance measurements, updated guides and tooling.
<h4>Latest release</h4>
The <a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/release-v2024-12-aero-is-out/777">latest operator’s release v2024.12-aero</a> was made live on 18 October. So calling all nodes, make sure your systems are up to date with the latest binaries! Nym Nodes should also agree to the Terms &amp; Conditions to be included in the active set. This is a safeguard for Nym to honor its promise to end-users of a no-logs infrastructure.
<h4>New network stress testing</h4>
The Nym team has been running a Fast &amp; Furious sniper edition to battle test Nym gateways who are running WireGuard. Many are toppling under the weight of heavy traffic, and only the best will remain! These test results are informing an ongoing close collaboration between core team and operators to arrive at the very best server specs and configurations for Nym nodes.
<h4>Improving node performance</h4>
Node status API is progressing and will enable NymVPN clients to only connect with fully online, top performing nodes.
In addition, a revamped Operator Guide, docs, and operator onboarding funnel are being readied for roll out to improve overall operator onboarding.
<h4>Network explorer updated</h4>
Nym network explorer v2 specs have been outlined and wireframes produced.
Stay tuned and join our channels for more up to date information and live discussion with the core team!
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=13dbc972128e" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/sprint-to-launch-october-25-dev-update-13dbc972128e">Sprint to launch: October 25 dev update</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sprint to launch: October 25 dev update

<h4>NSL community mission to pressure test the mixnet with NymVPN</h4>
Have you ever just wanted to try to break something? Well that’s what Nym needs all your help to do: break the Nym mixnet!
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*H5xpJQ3bAPaiROtZ0Qrsyg.jpeg"></figure>Ok, not exactly break it: but push it to it’s breaking point, force DNS leaks from every hidden hole, crash the nodes that aren’t up to scratch, flood the Nym customer service channels and devs with so many error reports that heads spin and knees buckle under the weight.
How can we do this? Use and test it on a mass scale.
This is the core mission of the Nym Squad League <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-squad-league-welcome-to-the-fall-season-63983347697a">Fall Season</a>: flood the mixnet with as much traffic as possible through the NymVPN Anonymous Mode so that a bigger and better app can emerge from all the stress.
Unfortunately you won’t get rewarded for breaking specific things — after all, your traffic can’t be linked to you! But you can get rewarded in NYM for your individual and collective contributions. See below for all the details about how to be a part of Nym’s most important NSL mission to date.
The <a href="https://nymtech.notion.site/NSL-Mission-Board-Fall-Season-90a7602f9d4047728dd8dd846a969ee2">Bring the Noise! mission</a> will run from 14 October to 31 December 2024, so start making your noise today!
<h3>Nym noise makers united</h3>
The upcoming <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-roadmap-through-2024">NymVPN launch</a> will certainly make some noise across the world this season, so join us in the cacophony.
The Nym mixnet generates noise: these are network techniques designed to confuse surveillance efforts and increase the anonymity of everyone using the network.
One type of noise is cover traffic which increases the volume of traffic flowing through the network to make user traffic patterns hard to ascertain. This “dummy” traffic is composed of Sphinx data packets that look exactly like real packets but are in fact empty. Other types of noise include data mixing and timing obfuscation which cloak your online traffic patterns like no other technology can.
Everytime you send your traffic through the mixnet via the NymVPN <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">Anonymous Mode</a>, you will be making the whole network noisier and thus more private and resilient for every Nym user. The bigger the crowd, the harder tracking anyone will be! That’s where the Nym community comes in for one of the most important NSL missions to date: let’s increase the size of the mixnet crowd.
<h3>What to do</h3>
First, make sure to <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/download">get the latest version of NymVPN</a> on your device(s).
The goal is simple: use the NymVPN Anonymous Mode as much as possible this season and contribute to a massive collective stress test of the network.
<h4>Mission reports</h4>
To be eligible for rewards, users are required to share submissions/reports. These reports will serve as your “proof-of-work” for earning rewards.
To submit your report:
<ol>
<li>Visit the NSL’s <a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/c/contributions/submissions/29">Submissions category</a> on the forum</li>
<li>Click on the “Create new topic” button</li>
<li>Select the “making-noise” mission tag in the optional tags section and post your report</li>
</ol>
<h4>What to include in your report</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*QFTE6DETwLyuFmIjYeAOkA.jpeg"></figure>Keep in mind, 00:01:43 isn’t going to win much, so see how far it can go with all kinds of traffic: email, messaging, browsing — try, it works!
<ul>
<li>Share screenshots of your connection time from the NymVPN home screen</li>
<li>Tweet * the picture to @nymproject with the hashtags #NYM #Privacy #CoverTraffic
</li>
<li>Share your posts on <a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Nym Discord</a> &amp; <a href="https://t.me/nymtech">Telegram</a> chats</li>
<li>Compile links to your posts on the forum with the tag “making-noise” every month to claim your points</li>
</ul>
*The Twitter/X account that you tweet from must have at least 100 followers
<h3>Want to go the extra mile?</h3>
In addition, don’t forget to report errors, connection problems, down entry and exit gateways, and user experience issues to the <a href="https://support.nymvpn.com/hc/en-us/requests/new">Nym Customer Service center</a>.
<h3>Rewards</h3>
There are two types of rewards:
<ol>
<li>Claim up to 50 NSL points daily after submitting your monthly mission report</li>
<li>An additional 1000 $NYM will be rewarded monthly to one member who stays connected the longest! Simply submit a screenshot of your longest session</li>
</ol>
<h3>A noisy network for a private world</h3>
It’s not enough to design a great piece of technology: it also needs to be <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-fast-furious-network-performance-tests-i-ii-and-iii-f00d4bfba17f">thoroughly tested</a> out in the wild. With your help this season, NymVPN will be birthed into the world at the end of this year battle-tested and ready to deliver its promise: to bring true online privacy to all of humanity
Surveillance technologies will only become more and more efficient at tracking everything we do, finding signals in even complex networks. Help Nym make the mixnet so noisy that all our personally identifiable signals and patterns will simply be lost in the power of the crowd.
In the end, there isn’t a crowd without you.
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=0491ab218bc8" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/bring-the-noise-0491ab218bc8">Bring the Noise!</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Bring the Noise!

<h4>Get ready for the most important NSL season to date, with one particularly noisy mission</h4>
With a dedicated treasury of over 1m NYM and grants up to 100k NYM, it’s time to kick off the third season of the Nym Squad League!
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*ly1GlHMLl05pCQz2"></figure>Ready to make some noise for online privacy? Nym needs your help more than ever. The <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-roadmap-through-2024">launch of NymVPN</a> is right around the corner, and this means testing the app as much as possible is crucial. That’s why the motto and core mission of this season is: Bring the noise! Together, let’s see how noisy the Nym network can get with all of our traffic.
Not yet using the free beta version of NymVPN? <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">Sign up now</a> for an instant credential to test the highly private Anonymous Mode and the Fast Mode powered by WireGuard!
<h3>Fall Season details</h3>
Starts: 14 October 2024
Ends: 31 December 2024
Submission deadline: 6 December 2024
Squad Wealth Fund balance: 1m+ NYM
<h3>Fall Season objectives</h3>
<ul>
<li>
Bring the noise! It’s simple: use NymVPN, flood the net with real and cover traffic, and be private together (for some NYM rewards, of course)</li>
<li>Help and amplify the NymVPN launch
</li>
<li>Strengthen and optimize the Nym network
</li>
<li>
Build tools and apps for the Nym ecosystem</li>
</ul>
<h3>What’s new this season?</h3>
<ul>
<li>
Grants: Anyone can now apply for grants, and most NSL grants no longer require Nymja/Shinobi rank.</li>
<li>
Specific builder grants: You can still propose your own ideas, but starting this season the NSL is also putting out specific calls for builders: operator tooling, reviving NymConnect, and more (see grants below).</li>
<li>
Buddy system: The NSL can be a lot to take in at first. Seasoned contributors will now help you get started.</li>
</ul>
A more detailed list of all new NSL terms is available in the <a href="https://nymtech.net/nsl-report-season-2.pdf">NSL Summer Season report</a>.
<h3>Key missions</h3>
Make sure to check out the full <a href="https://nymtech.notion.site/NSL-Mission-Board-Fall-Season-90a7602f9d4047728dd8dd846a969ee2">Mission Board</a> for what’s needed this season. But here are some highlights to pay attention to:
<h3>Make some noise: Generate mixnet traffic!</h3>
There is a value to strength in numbers. In the case of the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">Nym mixnet</a>, there is anonymity in numbers. The bigger the crowd, the harder tracking anyone will be!
Remember, whenever you send traffic through the mixnet, the NymVPN client also sends “cover” or “dummy” traffic from your device through the network. These packets look exactly like your real traffic, but they are actually empty. Their function? Simply to increase the size of the crowd so tracking efforts are even more difficult to accomplish. This is one of many network privacy strategies that Nym calls added “noise.”
Mission goal: Stay connected to the mixnet the longest through the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/anonymous-mode-in-nymvpn">NymVPN Anonymous Mode</a> to get rewards for all the traffic you generate through the mixnet.
Rewards:
<ul>
<li>Claim up to 50 points daily after submitting your monthly mission report</li>
<li>An additional 1000 $NYM will be rewarded monthly to members who stay connected the longest!</li>
</ul>
Stay tuned for more details on this mission and why it is so important for Nym and NymVPN users.
<h3>Referral program</h3>
The world needs more heroes! And the bigger the crowd, the better the privacy for everyone.
The NSL counts on community contributors to onboard new Nymsters and grow the Nym community together. Bring your friends, spread the word about NSL at events, and help new joiners become active contributors by showing them around the Squad League to share NYM rewards at the end of the season.
How can you refer someone? It’s simple! If your friend is interested in joining NSL, simply fill out the <a href="https://nymtech.deform.cc/NymSquadLeague">registration form</a> to generate your unique referral code
<h3>Grants</h3>
There are many grants available, but one is particularly important:
<h3>Build with Nym</h3>
The NSL welcomes all builders and devs! You are only limited by your imagination when you work with the Nym mixnet.
If you are building a self-sufficient project that can be built without a lot of active support from the Nym Dev team using the mixnet, read through the proposals to register now.
The NSL is particularly interested in devs to work on the following projects:
<ul>
<li>
Messaging mini-app: The mixnet enables truly private communications online. Nym is interested in a messaging or file hosting service that integrates with the mixnet to provide instant and secure communications and make the web a much better place for everyone.</li>
<li>
Operator tooling: The Nym community knows best what tooling would help them most to run, maintain, and monitor their nodes. Building various tools for Nym node operators will be a focus of the Fall Season.</li>
<li>
Revive NymConnect: Bring back NymConnect with a new UI to support application-specific, SOCKS5-based, and privacy enhancements for wallets and other apps.</li>
</ul>
And of course, you can use the Nym <a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/latest">community forum</a> to share any proposals and receive feedback/assistance from the Nym Developer Relations team.
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
The Nym community has been a vibrant and exciting place, but it’s just the beginning. There is a lot we can do right now to make sure that the technology and community being built together leads to a common goal: bringing true online privacy to all of humanity.
Ready to take the next step forward? Nym is, as are a <a href="https://app.element.io/#/room/%23general:nymtech.chat/%24cmBcSoYS9XS-1uH-D5NwHVNyYaACGPxFsviRhk9KiOI">dedicated team of NSL members</a> who’ve just been promoted. Congratulations to everyone for helping to make a difference. Now let’s make some noise!
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymtech">Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=63983347697a" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-squad-league-welcome-to-the-fall-season-63983347697a">Nym Squad League: Welcome to the Fall Season</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Nym Squad League: Welcome to the Fall Season

<h4>Another season of projects and reward comes to a close as a new one opens</h4>
The world needs more heroes! The Nym Squad League is a framework for anyone to join the Nym community, grow their skills, and start contributing to Nym’s core mission: to enable privacy for all of humanity.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*5ujcqy6nVz22mRPf"></figure>The 2024 Summer Season has come to a close, so let’s look at all that was achieved by the Nym community over the past three months. You can read the <a href="https://nymtech.net/nsl-report-season-2.pdf">full report here</a> for a full breakdown of the Nym Squad Wealth Fund’s performance, all community contributions and promotions, and the Nymster leaderboard. A full update is also provided for the Nym community treasury: <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/introducing-nym-squad-wealth-fund-e02129306b1b">Squad Wealth Fund</a>. In the meantime, here’s some highlights.
<h3>Seasonal objectives</h3>
The Nym community had the following key objectives for the Summer Season:
<ol>
<li>Advancing the Alpha and boosting the <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nymvpn-free-beta-testing-now-live-751edfc9bb69">free beta of NymVPN</a>
</li>
<li>Strengthening and optimizing the Nym network</li>
<li>Developing tools and apps on the Nym mixnet</li>
<li>Growing and strengthening the global Nym community</li>
</ol>
Let’s take them in order and see how we did!
<h3>1. Advancing the Alpha, boosting the beta of NymVPN</h3>
<a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">NymVPN</a> is the first user-facing commercial app to run on the Nym mixnet. It brings powerful privacy protections to ordinary people while also generating income for Nym node operators. The launch is around the corner, and the Nym community has been busy testing the app on different platforms, submitting valuable feedback and reaching new audiences.
<ul>
<li>The community organized and attended 19 events this season to reach new audiences with NymVPN and share the Nym vision</li>
<li>
Over 5,000 NymVPN credentials were activated for NymVPN Beta testing</li>
<li>Nym received nearly 400 pieces of feedback and counting in the form of bug/issue reports, feature requests, and performance reports (not including many great ad-hoc reports on Nym community channels)</li>
</ul>
Wins: With ongoing testing and feedback, the Nym community continues to play a key role in preparing NymVPN for its commercial launch.
Areas of improvement: Fun, accessible, yet impactful options are needed so anyone can get involved in testing, from the greenest Nymster to the most veteran Shinobi.
<h3>2. Strengthening and optimizing the Nym network</h3>
The Nym node community worked diligently to optimize the network, ensuring that it meets the high standards required for launch.
<ul>
<li>The majority of node operators successfully migrated to the new binary</li>
<li>Operators learned how to configure VPS to manage IP tables and support <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/what-is-wireguard-vpn">WireGuard</a> traffic</li>
<li>The <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-node-min-profit-margin-and-max-operator-cost-implemented-f6bb3b718736">community’s choice</a> of a 20% minimum profit margin has been implemented</li>
<li>The network now has exit nodes in 30+ countries, with most operators having now implemented web secure sockets</li>
</ul>
Wins: <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/wireguard-live">WireGuard is almost fully enabled</a>, with the exception of Windows clients, resulting in better configuration and significant improvements in network performance.
Areas of Improvement: Enhanced operator tooling and more detailed information on operator rewards are needed.
<h3>3. Developing tools and apps on the Nym mixnet</h3>
During the Summer Season, the NSL focused more heavily on encouraging builder grants after under-utilization in the Spring Season. As a result, we saw increased proposal submissions: several projects have already started, with more planned for the upcoming fall season.
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/grant-submission-for-nymja-ai-your-open-source-llm-with-built-in-privacy/501/2">Nymja.ai</a>: Developed by the <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-squads-speak-out-tupinymquim-on-the-ground-in-brazil-df9649e57614">TupiNymQuim</a> community squad, this privacy-preserving AI chat bot leverages the Nym mixnet for anonymous access.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/telegram-mixnode-monitor-bot/632">Delegation Tracker</a>: Community member bumpmeup created a Telegram bot for real-time updates about the performance of Nym nodes where your NYM tokens are staked.</li>
<li>
Node Operator Tooling: Community contributor Kaled is collaborating with the Nym team on researching and building node operator tooling.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://delegations.explorenym.net/">Nym Delegations Program CRM:</a> Further improvements are planned for the CRM developed by Shinobi contributor Pawnflake.</li>
</ul>
Wins: Increased project proposals and ongoing initiatives following our focus on builder grants.
Areas of Improvement: The builder grant lacks specific direction, making it too generic. Next season, we plan to introduce more targeted Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
<h3>4. Grow and strengthen the Nym community</h3>
The Nym Squad League opened to new joiners in the Spring season. The program has seen over 300 new registrations since then, and the majority of new participants remained active throughout the season. The list of contributions grew longer this season from 52 to 60, with squads and individual contributors stepping up to fill important roles: community management, technical mentorship, and translations.
Wins: Continued growth of the NSL, increasing the quantity and quality of contributions.
Areas of improvement: Simplify the NSL so it is easier for new joiners to understand.
<h3>Tracking the Squad Wealth Fund</h3>
And for all you data enthusiasts, here’s where the how the Squad Wealth Fund is advancing.
<h4>Staking</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*vekJgWqzxyu0kynYyT5BaQ.png"></figure><h4>Income and spending this season</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*__DwIp5kwnVKzDuF"></figure>Squad Wealth Fund (SWF) revenue comes from the <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-delegations-program-2-0-rolling-registrations-now-open-9bc44739f1b7">Nym Delegations Program</a>. The maximum budget dedicated to delegations has been increased by 25% from 32m to 40m NYM, however most of the additional funds were kept in reserve for the duration of the Summer Season. Squad Wealth Fund income remained largely the same this season, however spending increased from 261k NYM to 428k NYM from the Spring to Summer Seasons.
Despite the increase in spending, the SWF maintained a positive ending balance for the summer season at 57k NYM. While this marks a decrease compared to previous seasons, with a final war chest of 723k NYM the SWF remains in a solid position to allow for further scaling of the NSL and support of future community initiatives.
Here is a breakdown of payouts by category:
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*HKjlaPLEu_dcaJe_"></figure>For a more detailed breakdown of Squad Wealth Fund income and spending, please read the <a href="https://nymtech.net/nsl-report-season-1.pdf">Summer Season report</a>.
<h4>Contribution highlights</h4>
We saw tremendous contributions this season. Here are some highlights with our favorite photos of the season. The complete list of contributors is attached as Annex A at the end of this report.
<a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/nymvpn-workshop-at-ecole-42-rio/503">NymVPN Workshop at École 42 Rio, Brazil</a>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*Cq1b5Gqj3Op3x2Hq"></figure><a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/ep6-el-rincon-de-la-privacidad/705">Nym community call in Spanish — 6 episodes of “El Rincón de la Privacidad”</a>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*iUnzaJeEXdYtdJrg"></figure><a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/hack-wars-at-chandigarh-university-india-event-report/710">Hack Wars at Chandigarh University, India</a>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*uWscadC8poFpU7BK"></figure><a href="https://forum.nymtech.net/t/telegram-mixnode-monitor-bot/632">Telegram mixnode monitor bot</a>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*G2T6tua9-ItdQK24"></figure><h3>What’s next?</h3>
The Fall Season of the NSL starts on 14 October 2024. It will last for three months until the end of 2024. This seasonal structure allows the core team and community to iterate and improve on focus and missions. Upcoming improvements will include:
<ul>
<li>
Supporting builder grants with RFPs: NSL doubled down on builder grants for the summer season, yielding more proposals than ever before and brand new community projects: Nymja.ai, improvements to operator tooling, further improvements to the delegations program CRM, and more. The next step is specific calls for our devs (e.g., to <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/goodbye-nymconnect-hello-nymvpn-914defc96201">revive Nym Connect</a> and create a chat app using the mixnet).</li>
<li>
NymVPN affiliate program: The Nym community will have the chance to directly contribute to the success of NymVPN by bringing users on board in return for token rewards. Note: the affiliate program will not launch right away with the Fall Season — stay tuned for more information about the NymVPN launch.</li>
<li>
Anyone can apply for grants: Starting with the upcoming Fall Season, anyone can apply for NSL grants regardless of participation or rank.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
The Nym Squad League is closing an action-packed and successful season. With upcoming improvements to the Squad League framework, next season should yield valuable contributions to the fundamental right to privacy.
Despite increased spending, Squad Wealth Fund income is keeping the community in the green and continues to build a sizable war chest. This leaves room for the NSL and the Nym community to grow continuously, and supporting larger projects via grants is also possible.
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://discord.com/invite/nym">Discord</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtech"> Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23general:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=96e65e2f93fb" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr>
<a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/nym-squad-league-highlights-from-the-summer-season-96e65e2f93fb">Nym Squad League: Highlights from the Summer Season</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.nymtech.net/">nymtech</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Nym Squad League: Highlights from the Summer Season

Decentralized VPN routing meets state-of-the-art encryption
All the updates for the NymVPN app in September and the integration of the WireGuard protocol for the Fast Mode.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*I_o3WT7ZKlZZmfi6"></figure><h3>WireGuard on NymVPN</h3>
A huge milestone has been reached for NymVPN: the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/wireguard-live">WireGuard protocol is now live</a> on the Fast Mode for most apps and operating systems, with Windows to be launched shortly.
Why is this so important? Decentralized and independent routing is absolutely crucial for privacy, but this inevitably creates latencies with <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/wireguard-vs-openvpn">most encrypted routing protocols</a>. Every stop your traffic makes slows things down, requiring independent servers to decrypt before forwarding your data to its intended destination. Making this <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/encryption-and-data-protection">encrypted routing process</a> as efficient and secure as possible is crucial, and WireGuard comes in for the save here.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*4mwzcMoapsphDTu1"></figure><a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/what-is-wireguard-vpn">WireGuard</a> utilizes a streamlined codebase and state-of-the-art encryption protocols. While not designed specifically for decentralized routing, the Nym dev team has succeeded in adapting WireGuard to a tunnel-in-tunnel protocol for enhanced privacy on NymVPN’s Fast Mode, a 2-server network to complement the app’s 5-server <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">Anonymous Mode</a>.
And it’s fast!
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*ePr_u0h2Oc96BlSx"></figure>So when you need the confidence of enhanced privacy but with speeds that rival other centralized and essentislly unprivate VPNs, Nym has you covered.
<h3>NymVPN in September</h3>
There are also other important updates to the NymVPN app in September:
<ul>
<li>New language localizations in Arabic and Persian
</li>
<li>
New nodes worldwide</li>
<li>The release of the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/trust-center">Nym Trust Center</a> so you know how NymVPN fundamentally differs from what <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/vpns-no-logs-policy">other VPNs’ no log’s policies</a> claim to provide</li>
</ul>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*CbE3t3xLezqyCfE-"></figure>Read about all the new updates <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/nymvpn-in-september-2024">here</a>.
And there’s a lot more coming very soon:
<ul>
<li>Release of the WireGuard Fast Mode on Windows
</li>
<li>
Reduced leaks (IPv6, DNS, etc.) while connected to the app</li>
<li>Launch of zk-nym-enabled accounts
</li>
<li>Launch of localized Apple apps and website
</li>
<li>Improved censorship-resistant gateways
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Free NymVPN Beta testing continues</h3>
NymVPN is being built on many principles: everyone needs enhanced online privacy not provided by other VPNs on the market, but also speed for things like casual browsing without compromising on privacy.
NymVPN thus allows users to customize their level of online privacy with two modes:
<ol>
<li>The Anonymous Mode, which provides the most technologically sophisticated online privacy protection through the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/what-is-a-mixnet-and-how-does-it-power-the-most-private-vpn">Nym mixnet</a>
</li>
<li>And the Fast Mode which is now powered by <a href="https://www.wireguard.com/">WireGuard</a> for less sensitive traffic</li>
</ol>
But the job isn’t done yet: Nym still needs all you dedicated Beta testers to flood the Nym network with your traffic so that the Nym team can identify all the bugs and make it work seamlessly for users. So if you haven’t tried it yet, sign up to <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">get your free instant credential</a> today!
And if you’re curious about how the Nym mixnet handles your traffic, check out our <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/anonymous-mode-in-nymvpn">step-by-step guide</a> to what happens behind the screen in the network.
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymtech">Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23dev:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=7c63667bbc5a" width="1" height="1" alt="">

NymVPN supercharged: WireGuard is live and speedy!

<h4>Learn all about how the mixnet works and what it’s good for</h4>
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*eiW7rH_4TfgZxM4J"></figure>Nym has been going on and on about mixnets for a while. But now the Nym mixnet is really live and <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">free to test</a> with the click of “connect” to NymVPN’s Anonymous Mode.
But how does the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/what-is-a-mixnet-and-how-does-it-power-the-most-private-vpn">mixnet</a> underneath the hood work exactly? What makes it the most technologically sophisticated solution to online privacy available today? And, of course, why would you want to use it?
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*ZX8AiKX14schut03"></figure>Check out Nym’s new <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/anonymous-mode-in-nymvpn">step-by-step guide</a> to everything the mixnet does to anonymize your data and make you unlinkable to what you do online. There’s a lot to go through, and a lot to learn:
<ul>
<li>Sphinx encryption and data anonymization</li>
<li>Mixnet routing and data mixing</li>
<li>Cover traffic to anonymize the network</li>
<li>Timing obfuscation against AI surveillance</li>
<li>The role of entry and exit gateways</li>
<li>Data reassemblage</li>
<li>And return messages through SURBS</li>
</ul>
If you’re not ready just yet for that kind of deepdive, don’t worry: read about the <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en/blog/why-use-the-anonymous-mode">need for the mixnet</a> and its core privacy features through NymVPN, including the intricacies of added network noise against AI-powered surveillance.
<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/899/0*bFCrjHRYT5i68EqH"></figure>And remember, the bigger the crowd, the more private everyone will all be on the Nym network. So <a href="https://nymvpn.com/en">join the crowd today</a>. Don’t just help Nym beta test NymVPN, help build a private internet for everyone, one noisy packet at a time.
<h3>Join the Nym Community</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymtech">Telegram</a> //<a href="https://matrix.to/#/%23dev:nymtech.chat"> Element</a> //<a href="https://twitter.com/nymproject"> Twitter</a>
<h3>Privacy loves company</h3>
<a href="https://t.me/nymchan">English</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymchina"> 中文</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_Russian"> Русский</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYM_turkey"> Türkçe</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymtechvn"> Tiếng Việt</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymjapanese"> 日本</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymfrench"> Française</a> //<a href="https://t.me/NYMSPANISH"> Español</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymportuguese"> Português</a> //<a href="https://t.me/nymkorea"> 한국인</a>
<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=a4620f78714a" width="1" height="1" alt="">

Dive into the deep wonders of NymVPN’s Anonymous Mode

Nym sponsors hackathon at Suliman S. Olayan School of Business

Lebanon’s university students turn to crypto as hyperinflation roils the country

The US whistleblower is working on a privacy project with funding from a digital token.

Chelsea Manning dances with the crypto devil

Nym Eco-system Fund Opens Funding Requests as World-Class Cryptographers Join Advisory Board

Nym Opens Funding Requests as World-Class Cryptographers Join

Nym Taps Renowned Attorney Ahmed Ghappour as General Counsel

Harry Halpin hat einen Plan für das Internet

Andreessen Horowitz Leads Investment In Privacy Startup Integrating With Bitcoin

Nym raises $13M in funding round led by A16Z Crypto

Nym gets 6M for its anonymous overlay mixnet to sell privacy as a service

Nym raises 6M

Nym testnet grows larger than Tor, next step is to decentralize a critical centralized chokepoint of Tor

Nym testnet grows larger than Tor network

 Coronavirus pandemic and the rise in call for privacy technology.

Crypto Privacy Is a Financial Tonic to Government Intervention

Nym Technologies, invites the general public to take part in the next phase of its mixnet platform’s user testing.

Nym Blockchain Privacy Mixnet Opens for User Testing

Harry Halpin speaks to CoinDesk's Leigh Cuen in Davos, about the World Economic Forum, privacy and the future of blockchain.

Cypherpunk Harry Halpin takes on Davos

Libra wants to be far more than simply your internet money…

Facebook's Libra has big plans for you

A privacy-centric startup has turned to a private token sale to raise $2.5 million

Nym Technologies Raises $2.5 Million…

Both Nym Technologies and Chainspace are the products of the genius of George Danezis

Actual Privacy

NymVPN now open for public testing

What is Nym?

Latest in Nym

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Stake

Learn about staking NYM tokens

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Run a Nym node and start earning operator rewards

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Actual Privacy

NymVPN now open for public testing

What is Nym?

Latest in Nym

Join

Privacy loves company

Stake

Learn about staking NYM tokens

Build

Build apps that provide users with strong privacy as the default

Operate

Run a Nym node and start earning operator rewards

Download Nym wallet

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Download

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Learn

Community

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