Decentralized privacy startup, HOPR has released its first “customized HOPR Hardware Node,” which the startup says removes any reliance on cloud servers predominantly controlled by Amazon and Alibaba.
HOPR uses a token-incentivized mixnet solution, essentially doing the same for blockchain as Tor (the onion router) or a virtual private network (VPN) do on the internet. The mixnet node combines running an Ethereum node with next-level data privacy.
It’s the first hardware product released by a data privacy company in the blockchain space, the company said in a statement. (Other types of crypto firms have pursued similar hardware offerings, including Filecoin and Helium.)
HOPR is not the first company to use blockchain tokens to incentivize participants to enhance the privacy of a network, however. Competition in this area is currently ramping up with the likes of Orchid protocol, also based on Ethereum, seeing its token recently surge in value.
HOPR’s plug-and-play, blockchain-ready node is being sold at $440 with an 8GB RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The company is only making 100 HOPR Hardware Nodes available for the initial release.