TLDR:
- On the current internet your data is vulnerable. This flaw costs $9.5T annually
- The Nillion Blind Computer (NBC) enables true private computation – store and process sensitive data without exposure
- Already partnered with top crypto protocols
- Will be privacy layer for all crypto by 2030
- Targeting universal standard for all of humanity’s valuable data by 2035
- Multi-trillion dollar opportunity across AI, Data, and Crypto because we tax all private computation (just like AWS taxes compute and Stripe taxes payments)
Every time you use the internet, your private data is at risk. Period.
This isn’t just a privacy problem – it’s an untapped multi trillion-dollar opportunity that sits at the intersection of some of the biggest emerging technologies in the world, AI, Data, Crypto.
This is where the Nillion Blind Computer (NBC) comes in. NBC enables you to store and process sensitive data without anyone ever seeing it.
Our thesis is that by 2030 NBC will be the de facto gold standard for all crypto apps interacting with an end user, becoming the privacy layer of the internet and all of humanity’s valuable data.
In the same way cloud providers generate revenue via demand for computing and payment processors generate revenue via demand for commerce, NBC is positioned to capture value as privacy-preserving infrastructure, charging for the compute and storage developers and users need for the next generation of applications. This will unlock entirely new markets in crypto, with user bases and revenue streams that have never been able to exist until now.
NBC x AI
The most valuable AI applications involve sensitive data: business intelligence, personal analytics, healthcare. Without data privacy, decentralized AI simply cannot scale.
Current decentralized AI solutions ask users to trust hundreds of anonymous network participants – it’s about as private as using the bathroom with the door open.
By enabling private computation on AI data, Nillion’s Blind Computer unlocks privacy-first use cases that were previously impossible:
- NBC enables AI assistants to securely access private data (emails, LLMs, personal info) – $22.9B market by 2025
- NBC allows enterprise AI model training on private data – $15B market by 2027
- NBC facilitates secure data sharing for collective intelligence and AGI advancement – $trillion+ potential.
The first wave of AI was centralized. The second wave promised decentralization. The third wave will be powered by NBCs nilAI – delivering both decentralization and privacy.
Nillion is aiming to own the majority share (90 %+) of privacy-first AI applications by 2030.
We will break this thesis down further in part 2: Nillion’s Blind AI manifesto.
NBC x Crypto
Crypto started with a simple idea: eliminate trusted intermediaries. Bitcoin put us in control of our money. Ethereum expanded this to general-purpose computing. But there’s a missing piece: private data.
Look at DeFi today. Every trade you make is visible to everyone. Frontrunning is rampant. MEV bots extract value from every transaction. Traditional finance gets fined millions for this behavior – in crypto, it’s just how things work.
Now let’s look at crypto social platforms. Your entire social graph, every interaction, every preference – all exposed on-chain. Try building a personalized feed without exposing user data. You can’t.
Nillion’s Blind Computer completes crypto’s original vision:
Trading & DeFi:
- Run dark pools where whale trades don’t move markets – traditional dark pools handle $1.1T in annual volume
- Execute cross-chain swaps without revealing positions – cross-chain volume hit $250B+ in 2023
- Build truly anonymous DEXs with private order books – DEX volume reached $1.2T in 2023
- Create liquidation-proof lending by hiding collateral levels – DeFi lending market exceeds $100B
Gaming & NFTs:
- Hide your moves in on-chain games – gaming market projected to hit $545B by 2028
- Build NFT marketplaces where only final sales are public – NFT trading volume peaked at $17B
- Create private gaming inventories – in-game items market worth $50B+ annually
- Run sealed-bid auctions – traditional auction market exceeds $400B
- Enable private in-game economies – virtual goods market worth $78B by 2025
Protocols:
- Create MEV-resistant transaction pools – MEV losses hit $2.8B since 2020
- Build bridges where cross-chain data stays private – bridge volume exceeded $200B in 2023
- Enable private cross-chain message passing – interoperability market projected at $64B by 2030
- Run validator networks with private stake amounts – $175B+ total crypto assets staked
- Create private oracle networks – oracle services market to reach $12B by 2027
Social & Identity:
- Build reputation systems without exposing user data – digital identity market worth $33B+
- Create private social graphs – crypto social market projected to hit $87B by 2028
- Enable anonymous-but-verified governance voting – blockchain voting market at $2.3B by 2025
- Run private credential systems – digital credentials market reaching $8.7B by 2026
- Build zero-knowledge identity verification – KYC/AML market worth $16.8B by 2027
And these are just the obvious use cases.
Just as no one predicted Ethereum would spawn a multi-billion dollar NFT industry, NBC’s privacy layer will enable applications we can’t even imagine yet. Every time a new crypto primitive emerges, it creates entirely new markets. NBC isn’t just a feature – it’s a new primitive that will spawn its own economy.
The first wave of crypto gave us decentralization. The second wave will give us data privacy. And like every wave before it, it will create billion-dollar markets that seem obvious only in hindsight.
So, how does NBC make all this a reality?
Blind Computers execute programs blindly, unaware of the input data or the resulting outputs. That means developers and users remain in control of how data is stored, used, and shared – all without having to trust any single party.
This is made possible through Privacy-Enhancing Technologies, which leverage cryptography and other tools to make programmable privacy possible. Working with PETs today is a difficult process that requires deep expertise, preventing applications from taking advantage of Blind Computation. In fact, even experts in the field are limited as they tend to only be familiar with some of the technologies which prevents them from always picking the right tool for the job. The Nillion Blind Computer changes all this – democratizing these technologies by making accessible and easy-to-use tools that abstract away the complexities of working with Blind Computation.
The Nillion Blind Computer is a distributed network tailor-made to make Blind Computation possible. The network is split into two parts The nilchain and the Petnet (Privacy Enhancing Technology Network).
The Petnet
The Petnet is made up of separate clusters of nodes that offer different technologies and products, with the goal of allowing anyone to come and spin up their own cluster. App developers can then choose from existing clusters or create their own to tailor their specific infrastructure and security needs. Nodes looking to form a new cluster for general use can compete for user adoption across many axes including number of nodes, price, reputation, performance, cryptoeconomic security, jurisdiction, and hardware-based security. Developers then have the power to pick their own point on the tradeoff space and decide what matters to them – keeping them in control.
NilChain
The nilchain is a blockchain that manages shared resources for the whole Nillion Network. It’s built on top of the Cosmos SDK stack and such as rewards, cryptoeconomic stake, and governance, as well as enabling inter-cluster coordination. Since it’s intended purely for coordination purposes, the chain doesn’t have an open execution environment for running smart contracts.
The Future Runs on NBC
Every transformative technology follows the same pattern: first it seems impossible, then it becomes inevitable. Cloud computing. Mobile phones. The internet itself.
NBC is next. In a decade, running sensitive computations without NBC will seem as archaic as sending emails without encryption or making payments without HTTPS.
The future of the internet will be private by default. And Nillion’s Blind Computer is the foundation that makes it possible.