ZenGo Demonstrates Proof-Of-Concept of a Keyless Wallet for Facebook’s Libra

The non-custodial crypto wallet solution ZenGo has created an open source project that purportedly provides proof-of-concept (PoC) for its ability to support social media giant Facebook’s virtual currency Libra, according to an official announcement by ZenGo on July 2.

According to the announcement, this proof-of-concept project shows that it is possible to perform Libra transactions on the Libra testnet blockchain. However, the findings are limited, as the report cautions:

“Obviously, this experiment is only based on a testnet and we will have to explore further once Libra makes its mainnet available. Additionally, there is no user interface in this PoC and it goes without saying that a proper UI is required for a usable product.”

The statement also briefly discusses Facebook’s announced native wallet, Calibra. According to the report, ZenGo views Calibra as a good custodial-based solution, but notes that users can’t have full control over their Libra — the slogan goes ’not your keys, not your Bitcoin’ — and are required to undergo a registration process with government-issued ID to use the wallet.

ZenGo, on the other hand, uses a technique called the Threshold Signatures Scheme (TSS) which removes the need for private keys. ZenGo believes private key management is too complicated for the average user, so they developed the TSS to avoid custodial solutions and private keys entirely.

In layman's terms, this is how ZenGo describes the cryptographic function of TSS:

“TSS removes the burden of the single atomic private key and splits the responsibility between multiple parties. Each of the parties generates its own secret and uses this secret to distributively sign a transaction without revealing the secret to the other parties.”

In April, ZenGo received $4 million in funding from investors, including South Korean tech giant Samsung. 

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Facebook does not intend to launch Calibra in India, due to its ban on cryptocurrencies. A recently-proposed bill in India called the “Banning Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019” suggests a jail sentence of up to 10 years for engagement in cryptocurrency operations within the country.