Nym in November 2024

Dear friends and fellow freedom fighters,

We’re in the final push to the launch of NymVPN to the world in January 2025! But now’s no time for publicity, just hard facts and tasks. Getting to launch means hitting crucial milestones, and testers and stakers play a big part in the success.

November marked the first milestone with the stable release of NymVPN. This update improves network security and stability for users, but also lays the foundation for user payments being unlinkable to their use of the app.

The Nym network has had a major upgrade with the Magura release resulting in measurable improvements to reliability. The release begins the process of culling outdated nodes and ensuring equitable rewarding.

In preparation for launch, staking on nodes is crucial for the health of the network. So if you’re wondering which nodes you should stake, here’s a list of top performing Nym nodes who are currently in the official Nym Delegations Program. Staking NYM on them will go a long way to improving network performance while also ensuring a good APY.

To bootstrap the Nym treasury and improve network performance ahead of launch, Nym is conducting a token buyback of $1 million USD in NYM. As payments for NymVPN begin to roll in, there will be a perpetual NYM buyback organically linked to the demand for and usage of the app. The goal of Nym tokenomics is two-fold: the value of NYM will be linked to paid usage of the app, and the increase of users will improve the privacy of all.

The next major NymVPN release is scheduled for December to introduce zk-nym credentials and beta payments. With this coming release, the full infrastructure of NymVPN will be in place before being rigorously tested for launch over the holidays. Want to help the team prepare for it? Test, stake, mix packets, and take your seat onboard with us.

2025 is the year of an internet free of surveillance for all.

Nym Core

In the media

CNBC: “Chelsea Manning: Censorship still a dominant threat” (live interview)

PCMag: “Worried about digital privacy? VPNs and Tor aren’t enough anymore”

“[S]ecurity consultant Chelsea Manning explains how mixnets can be used to get around VPN bans in countries plagued by internet censorship.”

Decrypt: “Privacy project Nym is building an ‘NSA-proof’ VPN”

“Harry Halpin and Chelsea Manning explain the workings of the ZK-powered privacy project’s super-secure VPN.”

Decrypt: “Nym launching ‘world’s first decentralized mixnet’ VPN: CEO” (live interview)

The Irish Times: “Whistleblower Chelsea Manning warns of more personal data threats under Trump presidency”

“[Vulnerable] groups of people should absolutely up their game when it comes to privacy and anonymising tools.”

CyberNews: “WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning battles AI surveillance with NSA-proof VPN” (listen to podcast here)

“[Manning and Halpin] explain why traditional privacy tools like VPNs are failing in an era of AI surveillance and how NymVPN’s mixnet technology could be the solution for true digital anonymity.”

NymVPN

NymVPN 2024.11 is here

The latest release of NymVPN establishes a stable and secured infrastructure for the launch of payments and anonymous credentials next month. Great products, afterall, are built in phases. NymVPN 2024.11 includes:

• Improved user experience: A streamlined sign-up / sign-in flow allows your single anonymous access code to be used to connect up to 10 devices.
• **Anonymous access: **The revamped login system prepares the way for zk-nyms which will allow you to pay for NymVPN without ever being linked to your use of the app.
• Security updates and bug fixes: General improvements make for better app performance and security following an external security audit.
• Improved connectivity: A new state machine significantly enhances the stability of network connections.

This app version is currently compatible with MacOS, Linux, and iOS. Versions for Android and Windows will soon follow, so stay in touch on socials for announcements!

Remember, NymVPN Beta is still free for everyone to test until launch in January 2025, so get your anonymous access code today!

NymVPN marketing

The Nym marketing team is gearing up for the January launch campaign. Discussions with privacy-focused tech companies and blockchains are in the works, and an affiliate marketing campaign to get NymVPN before the eyes of over 10 millions of eyes worldwide in January is well underway. Expect a big marketing push as the New Year arrives when the app is ready for the general public.

Nym rebrand

The Nym rebrand is in its final stages, and there are big things on the stove for the New Year! At the beginning of January, you can look forward to some treats: a new visual identity for Nym, a freshly stylized experience of the NymVPN app, and a unified nym.com domain! Look out for Nym’s New Year’s Resolutions for a sneak peak!

The Nym network

Magura network update

November’s Magura network release improves the reliability of the Nym network and updates Nym tokenomics. And the results are noticeable already with measurable improvements on reliability.

The Magura release includes the roll-out of “naive rewarding” as an interim step in the token economics powering the network before it goes to fully paid access. And it includes the completion of project smoosh, combining gateway and mixnode functionality into a single Nym node binary.

Staking

The Magura update has also begun the process of culling non-performing and outdated nodes. As a staker, you should now check your nodes to make sure they are still eligible for rewards.

When in doubt, stake on Nym nodes that are in the official Delegations Program (DP) because they are required to meet the latest requirements! You can find the DP program wallet and list of top quality nodes here.

Explorer

In the wake of Magura, Nym explorers are getting a major revamp. The official Nym network explorer remains here. The explorer currently shows both upgraded Nym nodes as well as legacy gateways and mixnodes to enable a smooth transition to the revamped network.

Operators and stakers can look forward to an Explorer V2 launching very soon with additional staking and operator features!

Important changes for operators

Magura includes five main changes that operators need to be aware of:

1. NYM reward pool is now distributed across 5 layers of nodes to include entry and exit gateways as well as three layers of mix nodes.
2. Nym nodes are now multi-functional. Operators now simply run a Nym node and then enable gateway and mix node modes.
3. Project smoosh is complete. This means that operators simply run Nym nodes and the mixnet contract now only “sees” Nym nodes. Operators will have to run up to date software to be included in the active set and gateways will have to get stake for the first time in order to be selected to the active set.
4. Node selection algorithm now includes a configuration score to determine if a node is included in the active set: Selection = config score * total stake * performance ^ 20. This is to cull any outdated nodes from the set and make sure the network is running up to date software.
5. Operators now must agree to operator Terms & Conditions to confirm legally that you do not gather logs on users.

Community

Nym Squad League: October leaderboard

Compete for over 50,000 $NYM in prizes this season with other members. Check out the October leaderboard here. There are even more grants and up to 1m $NYM for rewards in the Nym Squad Wealth Fund treasury for this season which will be used to reward other community initiatives. Here’s everything you need to know before getting started.

Bring the noise!

The motto and core mission of this Nym Squad League season is: Bring the noise! Last month, the Nym community got VERY LOUD with their traffic! Everyone who connects to NymVPN in Anonymous Mode can post their screenshots on X/Twitter and report it on the Nym forum for more benefits.

See who won 1000 $NYM in October for the Bring the Noise campaign by staying connected for the longest time here. Here’s how you can participate.

Weekly Community Calls

Nym community calls happen every week on Nym Youtube or Twitch, Thursdays at 14:00 UTC. Tune in for your weekly scoop on all things Nym! You can find all of April community calls on this YouTube playlist.

Join the community calls for:

• Product development updates
• Special guests from other projects and friends of Nym
• A chance to ask your own questions
• And of course, lots of friendly banter with the hosts, the team, and the wider Nym community.

Events

The Fall events season has come to a close, but it was a very busy one! It meant many overnight flights, but the Nym core teams managed to do it all in one week: from DevCon in Bangkok to Web Summit in Lisbon, Nym showcased NymVPN and its network to thousands of people! Check out all the talks Nym gave from East to West!

Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it, watch whole Nym presentations here:

• Harry Halpin: “Why VPNs are a scam and what to do about it”
• Harry Halpin & Max Hampshire, “History and Philosophy of Cypherpunk”
• Max Hampshire, “From Packets to Privacy: Understanding and evolving network security”

The crowds couldn’t be more different, but the appeal was the same: the world needs something more than what traditional VPNs are offering. We need more access to information, more control of our data, more anonymity in what we do and who we communicate with online.

Next stop, the full launch of NymVPN in London, UK in January 2025!

One last thing: