1. Cryptyk (USA) cryptyk.com
Cryptyk is a fast responding and low-cost system using a mixed blockchain for cloud storage and data protection. In short words, Cryptyk splits every uploaded file into parts, encrypts and distributes them to several independent servers. As such, if one of the servers suffers a hacker attack, your files will remain secure, and the attacker will end up with the encrypted fragment in hand only.
The project has quite many competitors offering similar services: Filecoin, Sia, Storj, Maidsafe. However, their common main drawback is the low-speed access to files. The latter eventually kills the possibility of remote work and editing of one file by several team members. Cryptyk can solve this problem.
Beyond blockchain, the main competitors of the project are the all-mighty Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services (AWS), which is hacked on an annoyingly regular basis, and Netskope, where 15% of corporate users lost their data as a result of attacks. Cryptyk pressures competitors, claiming that their system reduces the risk of attacks to 0.01%.
The platform consists of two essential components: VAULT (cloud storage) and SENTRY (auditing and identification of users). As mentioned above, when the file is uploaded to Cryptyk, the service encrypts it, splits into parts, encrypts each fragment again and sends each of them to independent servers. As such, the hackers need to hack the services of the largest providers and also to decrypt the Cryptyk algorithm to gain access to one file. According to the developers, even a super-powerful quantum computer will need several years to pull off an operation of this scale.
SENTRY is responsible for additional security and monitors the activity of users while storing information in the blockchain. The service also provides access to encrypted mail and chat, control of file access permission, user identification, geo-protection of IP addresses, backup copies of access keys and control of the CTK token. On top of all that, SENTRY provides an open-source integration with third-party apps to ensure data protection.
The work on the project and the token began back in 2016, and a prototype was tested in the second quarter of 2017: 40 hackers and 40 potential customers attempted to hack Cryptyk. As a result, the low ping of the system (appr. 200 ms) and the prototype's high resistance to attacks were confirmed.
Major work on the project will start from Q2 2018, the release of the finished product is scheduled for Q3 2019.
Presale was launched on February 8, 2018, the discount for participants is 10%, the minimum investment amount is $25,000 (3 BTC or 30 ETH). All tokens bought by the US/Canadian citizens at this stage will be blocked for one year. The public sale will start on March 28, 2018. In the first two days, a 10% bonus will be effective ($0.10/CTK) if you buy more than $1,000. Listing on stock exchanges is planned right after the ICO completion.
The Cryptyk team consists of 8 key members and 12 advisors/investors. Adam Weigold – CEO, Ph.D., specialization in laser and atomic physics. Prior to Cryptyk, he worked for and founded many projects, 2 of which were successfully sold. From the army of advisors and investors, Sead Muftic is worth mentioning – the founder of Setecs Inc., a company working on comprehensive data protection. In general, the team is worthy and is capable of bringing the project to the goals stated in the roadmap.
So far, Cryptyk has concluded a number of important partnerships. IBM (NYSE:IBM) is assigned the "embedded partner" status. Founders company is a partner in testing the alpha version of Cryptyk. One of the project's advisors, Robert Bender, is the Founders CTO. Design Shift is creators of ORWL – a device for PC protection. Ambisafe is engaged in the CTK token creation, development and audit of a smart contract.
Analysts of The Token Fund recommend the project for the medium term. A unique idea justifies the blockchain use. The project presents a strong team capable of creating and developing the product. The audience on the discord is actively interested in the project itself instead of the usual "when moon/lambo/binance"
2. Faceter (South Africa) tokensale.faceter.io
Faceter is the first decentralized video surveillance system. The project makes video surveillance "smart" thanks to the technology of advanced face recognition, object detection, and real-time video analysis. These functions allow cameras to understand the situation and respond to it, offering the highest level of security for the customer. Such technologies are usually expensive to develop and support; besides, they require considerable computing resources. Only a few very expensive B2B solutions are capable of analyzing video content, and therefore, their technologies are still at a very early stage, compared to the capabilities offered by neural networks.
The blockchain-based video surveillance technology, built on a decentralized network of miners, makes the product affordable to businesses of any size. The advantage for miners is that their profit in Faceter is twice as large as in the Ethereum, on the same hardware. Besides, the technology is absolutely anonymous and uses the features of high-precision neural networks to allocate tasks. As a result, confidential data is always processed in a trusted environment, and images, from which personal information cannot be obtained, are transmitted to the decentralized network.
This means that Faceter will find a use in B2C, B2B, and B2G. Thanks to the real-time analysis of video content, intelligence services will be able to get data about the movements of the suspect in the last month in a couple of clicks and find out his or her location at the moment. Companies will find it easier to track the activity of personnel and gather statistics on visitors, record their gender, age, etc.
The goal of the project in the coming years is to launch self-learning neural networks to respond to the situation in real-time mode. For example, in the case of smoke and images of open fire, the system will call firefighters; in case of spotting a weapon in someone’s hands, the police will be called to the site; and if the person loses consciousness, the system will call the doctor.
Faceter services will be paid with tokens or other payment instruments (bank cards, e-wallets, cryptocurrency). Faceter intends to introduce mechanisms for instant conversion of payments into tokens. The price for the camera servicing will be set in US dollars and can be quarterly reviewed.
To date, there is a Faceter mobile app, where anyone can try the demo version of the system and its functions. The project is presented by an international team with extensive experience in research and development in the field of "computer vision", as well as in managing a high-tech business.
Faceter has raised $10 mln in 20 seconds in a declining market and hit the record on presales. The main sale is currently held, which will last until the end of March.
Analysts at The Token Fund consider this project worthy of attention and recommend to invest in the long term. The video surveillance system has long needed changes. Existing systems are expensive, of low quality and do not provide real effect. Faceter offers the revolutionary product to the market. A strong team, a clear roadmap, the proper use of blockchain capabilities are absolute advantages. Drawbacks can include the lack of the need for the proper token. After all, the ether would have coped with the functions assigned to FACE together with the implementation of the Lightning Network.