Input|Output, the research and engineering entity behind Cardano, along with Hedera, have been named the final founding members of the Decentralized Recovery (Dirac) Alliance, a new coalition aimed at promoting interoperability and increased security in the crypto industry. Founded by leaders of the Hedera and Algorand ecosystems and formalized in January 2024, the alliance already includes major crypto organizations such as the Algorand Foundation, Hashgraph (formerly Swirls Labs), Ripple, and XRPL Labs.
Cardano, Ripple and Hedera lead the way
The alliance was introduced by Hedera co-founder Dr. Leeman Baird, who highlighted the collaborative effort spanning multiple ecosystems in the same region. Press release on Thursday. “We are delighted to welcome Input Output as a founding member. Their deep expertise and insight will be a great asset to the Derek Alliance,” Dr. Baird commented.
Cardano founder and Input|Output CEO Charles Hoskinson emphasized the alignment with the company’s fundamental principles. “Input|Output has always been committed to open-source principles, cross-industry collaboration, and blockchain interoperability. As an industry looking to drive widespread adoption, we must all commit to a relentless pursuit of improving security, accessibility, and user experience,” the Cardano founder explained.
The DeRec Alliance has introduced an open-source, industry-standard protocol that simplifies the recovery of digital assets, which is vital for everyday users and developers within the blockchain ecosystem. John Woods, CTO of the Algorand Foundation, pointed to the wider implications of the inadequate user experience in Web3. “Web3 has failed to deliver a great UX for securing and recovering important content,” Woods said.
The Dirac Alliance aims to address these shortcomings by providing streamlined key recovery processes and further decentralizing other critical infrastructure needed to secure and access digital assets. The founding members of the Dirac Alliance, including Input|Output and Hedera, will serve two-year terms on the Technical Oversight Committee (TOC), contributing their expertise to the alliance’s governance structure and core policies.
His leadership is expected to maintain the strategic focus of the coalition and effectively address the emerging needs of its growing community. Hedera President Charles Adkins expressed his pride in joining the coalition and contributing to enhancing asset protection.
“From the beginning, Hedera has been at the forefront of digital asset security. The Derek Alliance takes this a step further by introducing an open-source protocol that simplifies asset recovery, which aligns closely with our mission to enable a new era of trust and transparency,” Adkins commented.
Alliance members also play a key role in shaping the direction of the DeRec Alliance by providing policy input and overseeing the development of DeRec-based solutions. They attend quarterly meetings and contribute to policy discussions, nominate candidates for and vote in TOC elections. This diverse group includes new members such as the DLT Science Foundation, Hashpack, Oasis Protocol Foundation, and Palisade, each of which brings unique capabilities and perspectives to the Alliance.
“The Derek Alliance is a group of leading-thinking Web2 and Web3 companies committed to making the process of securing and recovering digital assets, accounts, and other secrets as simple as existing Web2 experiences. […] Io will serve a two-year term on the Technical Oversight Committee (TOC), providing key input on the alliance’s governance structure and core policies,” said Cardano developer couple through the x.
The DeRec protocol itself is designed around a secret-sharing approach, which involves sharing secret information among a group of assistants, such as friends or businesses, who assist in the retrieval of secret information when needed. This approach ensures that no individual assistant can access the entire secret information, thereby increasing security and reducing the risks associated with centralized points of failure.
At press time, ADA was trading at $0.3264.
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