gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Hong Kong orders Worldcoin to halt operations over privacy violations in iris and face data collection

• Vitalik Buterin transfers $300K in ETH to privacy protocol Railgun, continuing months-long engagement

• Vitalik Buterin proposes zero-knowledge 'likes' on Farcaster to combat preference falsification

• COTI V2 launches Testnet featuring 'garbled circuits' for enhanced privacy on Ethereum L2

Op-Ed:

• Mastering Bitcoin UTXO management: Maximizing efficiency and privacy in transactions

• Starknet unveils zkEVM, Kakarot

• On-Chain ads pave the way for enhanced privacy and user experience in Web3

Zooming into ZK:

• zkSync teases June airdrop with v24 upgrade and governance handover

• Taiko announces genesis airdrop, distributing 5% of tokens ahead of Mainnet launch

• IEEE awards Zerocash white paper for groundbreaking impact on blockchain privacy with ZK-proofs

• Common launches privacy-enhanced AMM on multi-chain DeFi suite built on Aleph Zero

• Cronos zkEVM Testnet upgraded to Tethys ahead of Mainnet launch

• Mintlayer and Salus collaborate on Thunder Network, a Layer-3 ZK rollup for Bitcoin

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced support for X’s decision to make "likes" private, suggesting the implementation of zero-knowledge (ZK) likes on Farcaster to combat preference falsification. Buterin's proposal aligns with Farcaster's ethos of user privacy and autonomy, advocating for the use of ZK technology from Zupoll for anonymous voting. The move towards private likes was confirmed by X engineer Haofei, who cited the incentive for genuine engagement and protection against social pressure as key reasons. Community responses varied, with some suggesting extending privacy measures to other social features.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has awarded the "Zerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from Bitcoin" white paper, published in 2014, with the "Test of Time" award at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. This paper laid the groundwork for the practical use of ZK-proofs in cryptocurrency, notably introducing Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge (zk-SNARKS) for a private payment protocol called Zerocash.

Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has ordered Worldcoin to cease operations in the region, citing violations of local privacy regulations. The investigation, which included 10 covert visits to six Worldcoin locations, concluded that the collection of face and iris images from over 8,300 individuals was unnecessary and excessive. The enforcement notice demands an immediate halt to all iris and facial image scanning activities in Hong Kong.

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This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.