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Threshold

Y Combinator LogoS16
Active
cryptography
privacy
Austin
 
https://threshold.network/

Network for decentralized threshold cryptography and end-to-end…

NuCypher is one of two founding teams of the Threshold Network (market cap ~$370m), which hosts tBTC, TACo, Random Beacon & tUSD. Since 2017, NuCypher has pioneered cryptographic primitives for end-to-end encrypted data sharing, including Proxy Re-Encryption and Threshold Access Control (TACo), novel cryptoeconomic mechanisms (e.g. Stable Yield). and original network/governance architectures (including a historic on-chain merger). TACo, our flagship product, is running on over 120 nodes with ~$80m of associated economic security, has paying adopting developers and major infrastructure partners (Ceramic, Irys, Textile, Unlock), and has been decentralized from genesis (mainnet launch in Jan 2024).

Jobs at Threshold

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Senior Typescript Library Engineer
Remote
$120K - $160K
0.02% - 0.04%
3+ years
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Threshold
Founded:2015
Team Size:10
Location:Austin, TX
   
Founders
MacLane Wilkison
MacLane Wilkison
Founder/CEO
 

Company Launches

tBTC 💸 The truly decentralized bridge between Bitcoin and Ethereum

Hey everyone! We’re NuCypher (YC S16), contributors to Threshold Network.

Tl;dr

tBTC is a trust-minimized bitcoin bridge that lets users wrap their BTC in exchange for tBTC tokens that can be deployed permissionlessly in the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. Bitcoin is the most pristine digital asset and it deserves a decentralized financial system that's equally pristine. Mint tBTC and use your BTC as collateral to borrow, lend, LP, and more on Ethereum.

👪 Who is it for

Are you a BTC hodler, hedge fund, token fund, crypto VC, family office, DeFi OG, or high net worth individual who holds Bitcoin but are concerned about the risk of permissioned and centralized bridges like wBTC? Do you worry about centralization risks like censorship or the bankruptcy/liquidation of a centralized custodian like what happened with FTX/Alameda and renBTC?

Then tBTC is for you.

💡 How does it work?

Decentralized Custody

It's simple! Rather than sending your BTC to a centralized custodian, you permissionlessly interact with the Threshold Network smart contract on Ethereum and your BTC is custodied by the decentralized network of Threshold stakers (under the hood some fancy cryptography is happening using distributed key generation and threshold signatures). You deposit your BTC in an address generated by Threshold stakers and receive tBTC in your Ethereum wallet. All this can be done via the Threshold dashboard.

Your Passport to DeFi

Once minted, you can use your tBTC like any other token on Ethereum and across the DeFi ecosystem: to lend, borrow, yield farm, safeguard in smart contract multisigs like Gnosis Safe, and more…

💪 Why we built tBTC!

We built it for ourselves. We’ve been through multiple crypto cycles and have seen first-hand the risks of centralization and the ensuing loss of funds, all the way from Mt Gox to FTX/Alameda, more recently. We know not to send our BTC to an opaque centralized custodian just to put it to work. Bitcoin is the most pristine digital asset and it deserves a financial system that’s just as pristine.

🙏🏻 Our Ask

If you want to put your BTC to work, mint tBTC and get your passport to DeFi (but make sure you understand the risks, first): https://dashboard.threshold.network/tBTC

Our community is here to help, come join the fun in Discord, learn more about tBTC, and maybe even contribute to the DAO!