Introduction

Ruby Protocol is a blockchain-based system built on the Polkadot network designed to enhance privacy, security, and interoperability in Web3 applications. It employs advanced cryptographic techniques, such as zero-knowledge proofs (zkProofs), which validate transactions without exposing sensitive information, ensuring secure and private transactions for users.

The protocol also uses Account Abstraction (AA), simplifying account management by abstracting complex operations, making it user-friendly and safe. Its Assets Bridge (AB) facilitates secure transfers of assets across different blockchain networks. Access Control (AC) mechanisms manage resource and data access, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive information.

What is Ruby Protocol? History and Milestones

Ruby Protocol was founded in the third quarter of 2020 by a trio of innovators: Suhas Hegde, Benjamin Issembert, and Tyler Gellatly. With his background in computer engineering and dedication to open-source software, Hegde joined forces with Issembert, a specialist in blockchain privacy, and Gellatly, an expert in launching startups.

Their collective vision was to create an intent-centric account protocol to support the growth of other blockchain initiatives. This vision has resonated with the investment community, enabling Ruby Protocol to raise over $7 million from the groups of investors below:

• Signum Capital
• D1 Ventures
• Global Coin Research
• DWeb3 Capital
• Digital Strategies
• DFG Group
• Maverick Global Ventures
• Ocean Foundation

Initially, the project focused on researching functional encryption, which paved the way for the protocol’s emphasis on privacy. By the first half of 2021, the development team released the official whitepaper, launched the website, and established the Ruby community, marking the project’s public introduction.

In the third quarter of 2021, Ruby Protocol released its first version of its functional encryption library and received approval for the first milestone of the Web3 Foundation Grant. By the end of the year, a micropayment scheme and a relevant Substrate module had also been released.

The second milestone of the Web3 Foundation Grant was approved in the first half of 2022. In the third quarter of the same year, Ruby Protocol’s application to the Substrate Builders Program was accepted, and its Testnet V1.0 was launched, along with a bug bounty program. By the end of 2022, the first milestone of the Substrate Builders Program was approved, and Mainnet V1.0 was launched.

In early 2023, Ruby Protocol launched access control for NFT-gated events, and the private payment launch of Ruby Connect Testnet, its deployment on multiple blockchain networks such as Polygon, BNB Chain, Optimism, and Arbitrum, and the release of Ruby One with Web2 login and social recovery features. The protocol’s partner ecosystem expanded to 35 partners, and Ruby One processed over 300,000 email sign-ups.

In 2024, Ruby Protocol redefined its focus to an “Intent-centric Account & Access Layer for Web3” and launched several intent products to enhance user experience and security in the Web3 space, such as:

• Intent Verification: A feature that verifies user intents and ensures secure and authorized access to Web3 resources.
• Intent Payments: A solution enabling seamless and secure transactions by aligning payments with verified user intents.
• Intent Control: A system that provides granular access control based on user intents, enhancing security and flexibility for applications and users.

Technical Components of Ruby Protocol

Ruby’s position within the Web 3.0 Technical Stack

Ruby Protocol is built on a technical architecture designed to enhance privacy, security, and interoperability. It operates as a programmable privacy and access control middleware framework that uses zero-knowledge proofs (zkProofs) to ensure data confidentiality and secure transactions. This architecture is specifically crafted to meet modern blockchain applications’ data needs and technical demands.

Account Abstraction (AA) is an important feature of the Ruby Protocol. It simplifies account management by abstracting complex operations. This makes the protocol user-friendly while maintaining high-security standards. AA supports functionalities like Web2 account login and social recovery.

The protocol includes an Assets Bridge (AB), which facilitates safe asset transfers across different blockchain networks, maintaining privacy in different ecosystems, such as Polkadot, Ethereum, and Binance Smart Chain. Access Control (AC), as the name suggests, provides more control over access to resources and data, which includes mechanisms for NFT-gated or DID-gated access, used to control access to digital or physical experiences based on ownership of tokens or decentralized identities, ensuring that only authorized users can access specific resources, maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the system.

On-chain private payments is an important feature because it ensures that sensitive transaction information remains confidential. Ruby Protocol customizes cryptographic keys to reveal only specific transaction details to authorized parties, protecting user privacy. This is complemented by off-chain data management capabilities, allowing users to store and encrypt off-chain data securely.

The protocol incorporates ZK Proof of KYC and authentication, which performs Know Your Customer (KYC) checks without exposing private identity information, as a precaution ensuring that only controlled KYC information is shared with the necessary entities, maintaining user privacy during authentication processes.

On top of those innovative features, Ruby Protocol supports privacy-preserving cloud computing, protecting user data privacy during cloud uploads with privacy-preserving machine learning and labeling, to ensure that data remains confidential even when processed off-chain.

Integration with LayerZero, an open-source messaging protocol, helps to enhance interoperability and communication between different blockchain systems, helping to create an intent-centric Web3 environment that prioritizes user privacy and ease of use.

Privacy Features

Ruby Protocol’s privacy framework includes zero-knowledge proofs (zkProofs), allowing transactions to be validated without revealing sensitive information. Other features include zkTokens, zkNFTs, and zkDIDs as its primary methods for privacy-preserving tokenization. zkTokens enable private transactions by concealing transaction details from unauthorized entities so only the involved parties have access to the information. Similarly, zkNFTs allow the private transfer of non-fungible tokens, keeping ownership and transfer records confidential. zkDIDs support decentralized identity management, enabling users to authenticate their identities without disclosing personal information.

On-chain private payments ensure that sensitive transaction information, such as addresses, amounts, and identities, is hidden. Users can customize cryptographic keys to reveal specific transaction details only to the authorized parties, thereby protecting their privacy and ensuring that transparency happens only where necessary.

Regarding off-chain data management solutions, users can store and encrypt off-chain data, such as documents and seed phrases, which is useful for maintaining privacy when handling sensitive information outside the blockchain.

Ruby Protocol’s Main Products

Ruby Protocol offers a suite of products designed to enhance privacy, security, and user experience for both users and developers.

Ruby Connect

Ruby Connect is a privacy-focused payment solution that offers secure and confidential transactions by concealing transaction details from unauthorized parties. It operates as a Layer 2 application designed to meet the need for private value transfers in the crypto space.

This product only customizes keys to reveal specific transaction details, such as addresses, inputs, outputs, or identities, to authorized entities. Users can mint tokens in an anonymized form and later redeem them back into their native form.

Ruby Connect aims to integrate with Ruby zkAuth to enable private transfers across chains.

Ruby One

Ruby One is an all-in-one wallet solution that simplifies the management of digital assets and identities through account abstraction and social recovery features. It supports Web2 login methods, allowing users to recover their accounts using familiar social media platforms, which enhances security and usability. It abstracts complex operations involved in account management, providing a user-friendly interface while maintaining strong security measures.

This wallet solution is designed to offer a good user experience comparable to traditional Web2 applications. This, in turn, helps to promote the wider adoption of Web3 technologies by making them more accessible and easier to use through familiarity with solutions already known by the general public​.

Ruby SDK

The Ruby SDK is a toolkit designed to help developers build secure and private decentralized applications (DApps) on the Ruby Protocol. It includes a range of libraries and APIs that facilitate the integration of Ruby’s privacy features, such as zkTokens and zkDIDs, into new or existing applications.

This toolkit aims to lower the barrier to entry for developers by providing intuitive tools and detailed documentation, enabling the creation of innovative applications without needing to develop complex cryptographic solutions from scratch, all the while supporting a range of functionalities, which in turn, cover both frontend architecture and backend operations, ensuring that developers are capable to build and deploy privacy-preserving applications efficiently.

Tokenomics of RUBY

RUBY is the native token of Ruby Protocol, and it is important for the network’s functioning and governance.

How Does RUBY Work?

RUBY tokens perform various functions, including staking, governance, and transaction payments. By staking RUBY tokens, nodes help secure the network and validate transactions. And on the other hand, RUBY tokens can be used to pay for transaction fees.

Role and Utility of RUBY Token

• Staking: Nodes are required to stake RUBY tokens to participate in network security and transaction validation. This staking mechanism maintains the protocol’s decentralized nature and ensures its security. \

• Governance: RUBY token holders can create and vote on proposals, including system code upgrades, adjustments of governance parameters, and modifications to product features. \

• Payments: RUBY tokens are used to pay transaction fees within the network, generating constant demand, as users need the token to perform transactions and access the protocol’s services.

Token Allocation

The allocation of RUBY tokens is designed to support Ruby Protocol’s long-term growth and sustainability. The following chart and table provide a detailed breakdown of the token distribution:

Governance Model

The Ruby Protocol governance framework is based on Polkadot’s on-chain governance mechanism. Any RUBY token holder can initiate governance proposals, adjust parameters, or even apply for grants. It is designed to evolve with the project’s development stages. Initially, governance relies on community input, but as the protocol matures, its autonomy will increase, eventually granting full control to the community.

Token holders can propose changes related to:

• System code upgrades
• Governance parameter adjustments, such as handling fees and staking amounts
• Modifications to governance rules
• Addition or modification of product features
• Financial support and incentive plans

This governance structure ensures that the development of Ruby Protocol aligns with the community’s interests and needs, promoting a collaborative and transparent decision-making process.

zkToken, zkNFT and zkDID

These tokenization methods are very important technologies to Ruby Protocol’s privacy offerings:

zkToken

zkToken uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), specifically zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge), to enable transaction privacy. ZKPs allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any information beyond the truth and validity of the statement itself. This ensures that transaction details such as the sender, receiver, and transaction amount remain confidential while the transaction’s validity is verified.

In the Ruby Protocol, zkToken ensures that all transaction details are concealed from unauthorized entities. This is achieved by generating cryptographic proofs that confirm the transaction’s authenticity without revealing sensitive information. This mechanism provides enhanced privacy and security for financial transactions within the protocol, safeguarding user data from potential exposure.

zkNFT

zkNFT uses zero-knowledge proofs to facilitate the private transfer of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The use of zk-SNARKs in this context ensures that ownership and transfer records of NFTs are kept confidential. These cryptographic proofs validate the authenticity and ownership of NFTs without disclosing the involved parties’ identities or transaction specifics.

Within the Ruby Protocol, zkNFTs allow for the private exchange of digital assets. This capability is a big differential for those users who prioritize confidentiality and security in their digital asset transactions. By utilizing zk-SNARKs, the protocol can maintain a secure and private environment for NFT transfers, protecting user privacy while ensuring the integrity of the transactions.

zkDID

zkDID, or Zero-Knowledge Decentralized Identity, uses zero-knowledge proofs to provide a way for users to authenticate their identities without revealing personal information. zk-SNARKs act in zkDID systems by enabling identity verification through cryptographic proofs. This approach allows users to prove their identity and credentials without sharing the actual data, preserving privacy while ensuring authenticity.

In the Ruby Protocol, zkDID is employed to support decentralized identity management. Users can authenticate themselves and interact with the protocol without exposing personal information. This is achieved through zk-SNARKs, which verify the authenticity of identity claims without revealing any underlying data. This ensures that users maintain control over their personal information while still being able to prove their identity when necessary, enhancing privacy and security within the protocol.

On-chain Private Payments

Ruby Protocol’s on-chain private payment solution ensures that sensitive transaction information, such as addresses, amounts, and identities, remains confidential. Users can customize cryptographic keys to reveal specific transaction details only to authorized parties, thereby enhancing privacy while ensuring necessary transparency.

Ruby Protocol also provides solutions for off-chain data management, allowing users to store and encrypt sensitive data such as documents and seed phrases. This ensures that data remains confidential and accessible only to authorized individuals, even when stored on centralized servers.

Conclusion

Ruby Protocol stands out as a comprehensive and privacy-focused solution in the blockchain space. Its architecture, built on the Polkadot network, uses advanced cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the confidentiality of user data and transactions. By integrating privacy-preserving tokenization methods like zkTokens, zkNFTs, and zkDIDs, this protocol has created a very strong framework for secure and private transactions and identity management.

The protocol’s suite of products, including Ruby Connect, Ruby One, and the Ruby SDK, marks its commitment to enhancing user experience and developer accessibility. Ruby Connect addresses the need for private value transfers by allowing users to conduct transactions without exposing sensitive details. Ruby One simplifies digital asset management through account abstraction and social recovery features, bridging the gap between Web2 familiarity and Web3 innovation. The Ruby SDK empowers developers to build secure and private applications efficiently, lowering the barriers to entry and fostering innovation in the decentralized application ecosystem.