Brainbot Update for November 2024

Shutter DAO
1

Purpose

brainbot is sharing this update regarding the grant of 205,405 sDAI from Shutter DAO 0x36 received on 16 November 2024. It covers use of funds, activities and accomplishments in November 2024.

Highlights

brainbot laid the foundations for four major Shutter implementations:

  1. Shielded Trading on Gnosis Chain: Fully optimized the Shutter and Keyper codebase, paving the way for Nethermind to launch the release candidate for the official integration of Shutter into their main branch for Gnosis Chain.
  2. Shielded Trading on Ethereum L1: Drafted and privately shared with key partners a whitepaper regarding an out-of-protocol solution for implementing encrypted mempools; achieved significant research advances regarding an in-protocol solution for implementing encrypted mempools.
  3. Shutter API: Began building the Shutter API - a developer-focused encryption-as-a-service interface for dApps which rely on commit-and-reveal schemes (launch scheduled for Jan 2025).
  4. Shielded Voting on Snapshot: Conceptualized Snapshot Shielded Voting 2.0 - focusing on encrypted vote aggregation.

Use of Funds

Values

Category August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024
Dev $97.8K $98.5K $96.1K $97.4K
R&D $23.6K $32.1K $32.2K $40.2K
Biz Dev $25.0K $28.2K $28.2K $25.6K
Marketing $17.6K $21.9K $25.9K $25.1K
Admin $16.5K $21.4K $24.6K $24.3K
Legal $6.3K $6.4K $6.4K $6.3K
Other $34.6K $22.6K $22.0K $24.0K
Unused * $12.0K $2.0K $10.0K -$9.0K
Total $233.4K $233.0K $233.0K $233.0K
  • Cumulative “Unused” funds are $15,000.

Percentages

601×378 15.1 KB

Team

Current FTEs working on Shutter

1 CEO

1 Finance & Admin

2 Business Development

1.5 Marketing & Communications

6 Protocol Developers

1 Researcher

0.5 Lawyer

Changes

None

Shielded Trading on Gnosis Chain

Release & Stability

We continued work on the Keyper codebase, floodsub peer discovery, the explorer, and supporting Nethermind on the integration on their end.

Nethermind will soon launch the release candidate for the official integration of Shutter into their main branch for Gnosis Chain.

We currently see few additional opportunities to optimize the Shutter and Keyper codebase. As a result, we are focusing on supporting Nethermind and validators as they take the next steps. We will continue to observe performance and key metrics, and look for opportunities for further optimization.

We also conducted conceptual work and coordination with Gnosis and Nethermind on the next milestone for the encrypted mempool on Gnosis Chain.

Explorer

We made improvements to the accuracy of reporting the percentage of included encrypted transactions.

Shutter API

Introduction

The Shutter API is a developer-focused encryption-as-a-service interface for dApps which rely on commit-and-reveal schemes. It provides secure, decentralized workflows for encryption key retrieval, time-based decryption key access, and commitment decryption. It is designed for quick and simple setup, and scalable service.

The Shutter API is a crucial step toward making Shutter technology more accessible and relevant for developers and ecosystem participants. It will be offered as a paid service, generating revenue for Shutter DAO 0x36.

Development & Timeline

We conceptualized the functionality and use cases, outlined key requirements, and began development of the Shutter API. We expect to release an MVP of the Shutter API in January 2025.

Use Cases

We have identified numerous use cases which would benefit from the Shutter API, including:

Shielded Voting on Snapshot

v2.0 Roadmap

We laid the groundwork for a concept for Snapshot Shielded Voting 2.0, which will focus encrypted vote aggregation:

  • Established partnerships with TEE and cryptography experts like Polycrypt and TU Darmstadt.
  • Drafted designs for an initial solution: TEE-based aggregation.
  • Explored longer-term solutions: advanced cryptographic techniques like FHE and bespoke protocols together with Enclave from Gnosis Guild.

Dashboard & Analysis

We worked with Snapshot to refine and expand the Shielded Voting on Snapshot Dune Analytics Dashboard.

Decentralized Keyper Set

Shielded Voting on Snapshot will be one of the initial implementations of the generalized Shutter API and thus be migrated to the decentralized Keyper Set.

Strategic Research

Ethereum L1 - Out of Protocol Solution

We kept working on our vision of integrating Shutter into Ethereum L1 and PBS.

We wrote a document detailing our vision for an out-of protocol solution and a step-by-step process of how to reach the vision. In this document, we explain why threshold encryption is the most suitable technology to build an encrypted mempool and we detail planned improvements to the Shutter protocol.

We shared the document with key partners (Gnosis, MEV Blocker, Nethermind, CoW Protocol, the Ethereum Foundation, etc.) and we are currently receiving feedback and engaging in active discussions with these partners.

Ethereum L1 - In Protocol Solution

We are working on potential solutions for an in-protocol encrypted mempool for the Ethereum L1. We mainly envision a solution based on the recently proposed threshold encryption with silent setup scheme. We will keep working on this and eventually write another document outlining this vision.

Shielded Trading on Arbitrum (via Espresso)

We are currently waiting for feedback from Espresso. We will reach out again if we do not hear back from them soon.

Advanced Cryptographic Techniques

We continued working on techniques to avoid collusion on keypers:

  • We published a blog post about the recent research paper which introduces the notion of Secret Sharing with Snitching
  • Continued working on our practical idea for anti-collusion (at a high level: an encrypted transaction can only be decrypted if a proposer previously committed to including the decrypted transaction in the next block).
  • Started to prepare a talk submission for Ethereum Zurich in January to present the above idea for anti-collusion via proposer commitments.

Conferences

We attended Devcon7 and relevant side events in Bangkok:

Developer Relations

Shutter Network Members

We provided support and guidance to Shutter DAO 0x36 members on tasks, including:

  • Evaluating Treasury Management Proposals from Glo Dollar, Yelay and Avantgarde
  • Finalizating of the Extension of the Shutter DAO 0x36 Keyper Set
  • Concluding the Grant to Artis for Market Making Services
  • Sponsoring Events at DevCon
  • Launching Dappnode Intergation with Shutter Network’S Keyper Software
  • Evaluating Governance Tooling
  • Evaluating Delegation & Participation Programs

Marketing & Communications

Awareness & Outreach

We hosted several livestreams and published/supported blog posts:

We also amplified and distributed earlier-created content:

Community Engagement

We engaged the Shutter community via social media and community platforms:

Website

We completed the Shielded Trading page and Shielded Voting page and continued production of web pages with Relate Studio.

We are building a research section on the Shutter website to inform the community about past and ongoing research projects, engage in discussions with the community, and invite the community to share ideas for advancing the Shutter protocol.

Public Relations

We concluded our engagement with the previously appointed PR agency, Wachsman, which provided media coverage for Shutter during and after the Shielded Trading launch on Gnosis Chain in July.

We have appointed a new Web3 PR agency, Luna, for a 2-month trial:

  • Trial period runs, Dec - Mid Feb
  • Focus will be on creating a media narrative for Shutter, securing media coverage, and preparing the promotion of new Shutter announcements in the new year: Ethereum White Paper, Shutter API, and others