Leading DePIN project ATOR rebrands to Anyone ahead of mass rollout
Lisbon, Portugal, June 27th, 2024, Chainwire
One of the most successful projects of 2023, ATOR has transformed its vision away from the dark web and towards redefining expectations around privacy for Anyone.
ATOR has commenced its rebrand into Anyone (anyone.io). With the completion of its liquidity pool migration, the Anyone token is now live and actively being swapped by old ATOR holders. Holders on exchanges, after a brief pause period, will automatically receive the new token.
Starting as an incentive protocol for The Onion Router (Tor), ATOR quickly grew a voracious community keen to run relays to earn rewards for contributing bandwidth. Since then, Anyone has pivoted to building its own network, using the same onion routing technology popularized by Tor but applying it to a far wider use-case. Anyon’s mission is to make privacy the default standard on the internet for every app, service, and user.
Their DePIN network – Anon – is billed as a ‘modular privacy layer for the internet’. More than just a VPN or browser app, the Anon network allows any application to seamlessly connect to the network either manually or through code, and for new apps to be built on top of the network with privacy as a default. The aim of this is to change expectations around privacy altogether: no longer the responsibility of the user but the default setting in every product and service. The new name reflects this expansive vision: transforming the internet for every user, not just the technically inclined or those on the fringe.
Key to Anyone’s growth is the participation of its community in running ‘relay nodes’ to contribute bandwidth by routing other users and applications’ traffic. In just three months since the beta release of the network, 2000 relays have already been spun up, including hundreds of hardware relays.
A Clear Runway to Decentralized Expansion
ATOR Protocol’s rebrand to Anyone finally severed its ties with Tor, a critical moment for the project in driving completely trustless privacy. Unlike existing onion-routing implementations, the Anon network will be managed in an entirely decentralized way: no central authority that can shut nodes off or shape traffic at will. Furthermore, in the very design of the network, users will be able to leverage the nodes that serve its use-case best. High-throughput users can prioritize high-bandwidth relays, while those hyper-focused on anonymity can ensure they use relays that span many jurisdictions, or prioritize more trusted hardware relays.
From the requirement to run a relay, a payment token for premium bandwidth, staked by authorities in the network as part of federated consensus, and of course as the primary incentive for nodes in the network, the $ANYONE token will play a growing role in achieving this decentralized vision. With the onboarding of tokenomics expert Austin Seiberlich, who designed token models for Entangled Protocol and Aethir, coupled with the involvement of Max Gold who led the tokenomics for Helium’s $MOBILE token, Anyone is primed for an explosion in value accrual for its token.
DePIN Hardware Demand
Anyone’s physical relay units are an affordable low barrier to entry, enabling users of all skill levels to plug into the private web, in a manner as straightforward as connecting to a home internet modem. Additionally, with the same encryption chip as most Trezor wallets, the relay offers a level of hardware encryption that allows it to be a ‘trusted unit’ in the network and fulfill other responsibilities.
The first 1000 units, pre-sold in December, sold out in record time with prices on secondary markets 3-4x higher. The rebrand likely will see more hardware issued to meet this burgeoning demand, as well as exciting router updates delivered to all relays.
A Flourishing Ecosystem of Partnerships
The Anyone protocol’s design brings multiple levels of composability, enabling a playground for developers and projects to build their applications in a secure and private fashion. Integrating an app can be as simple as 2 lines of code.
Projects adding richness to this ecosystem include peaq network, a layer 1 blockchain home to numerous DePIN projects, io.net, a decentralized GPU network, and Tectum, a lightning fast, high throughput blockchain positioning itself for the future of crypto payments.
Anyone is well supported by a strong board of advisors and investors including Sean Carey, co-founder and CTO of Helium; EnigmaFund Venture Capital and Advisory; GoldHawks, a team of seasoned experts in the DePIN space; JDI, the leading manufacturer of DePIN equipment; the Hotspotty team, who has played a crucial role in the successful rollout of Anyone’s hardware relays. As passionate advocates of Anyone, Hotspotty also leverages their DePIN Hub brand to further spread awareness of Anyone’s mission.
Source: ATOR Art Resources
Alt text: Illustration of a man holding an Anyone hardware relay
About Anyone
Anyone is driven by the belief that internet privacy, despite increasing public attention, is being compromised at an alarming rate. They view privacy as a fundamental right and aim to change expectations around mainstream internet products to reclaim it. Offering low requirements to run a relay and out-of-the-box solutions, Anyone provides a unique SDK that allows coders to connect any app to the network with just two lines of code. Their network management and optimized circuits ensure efficient performance. This movement emphasizes anonymity based on contributions, promoting a meritocratic approach to internet privacy and encouraging developers to integrate privacy by default. Made possible by a core group of contributors with extensive experience in building major social media platforms, contributing to Arweave standards, and leading global hardware projects, Anyone is united by the drive to make true privacy the norm for everyone.
The Anyone Network is emerging, developing utility, and getting ready for anyone to use.
