Mask Network

What is Mask Network (MASK)?

Mask Network is a decentralized Web3 layer that sits atop Web2 social media platforms, allowing users to communicate securely.

Often described as a bridge and sometimes as a Trojan Horse, Mask also lets users send and receive cryptocurrency and NFTs, share files, and interact with dApps. Rather than requiring users to switch to and adapt to an entirely new platform, Mask simply builds atop the platforms people are used to.

Deployed primarily on Twitter and Facebook alongside Minds.com, Mask comes in the form of an easy-to-install app or browser extension.

When Was Mask Network Launched?

Mask Network launched in 2019, then known as Maskbook, but it shot to fame during the Chinese New Year in 2020. The project launched a “Twitter Red Packet” campaign with MakerDAO, which allowed users to claim DAI tokens. Red packets are a traditional way for the Chinese to bestow blessings during the Chinese New Year.

Mask also ran another Red Packet campaign to celebrate Bitcoin’s halving. The campaign was carried out with a major crypto exchange platform, OKEx, and used OKEx’s OKB token.

Who are the Founders of Mask Network?

Mask Network was founded by former investigative journalist and engineer Suji Yan, who also founded Dimension, a firm focused on products advocating for social liberty online. Dimension develops and maintains Mask Network and other products like TesserPG and Twidere.

Yan is no stranger to taking on the establishment. During his time as a freelance journalist, he investigated the case of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.

He is also well known for publishing the Anti-996 License. This is an open-source software license requiring companies that use the code to comply with local labor laws as well as International Labour Organization standards. This includes the right for workers to collectively bargain as well as targeting the hours—9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week—that the name refers to.

The Anti-996 License also specifies that a company must comply with the laws of the countries where it is registered, where it operates, or where its employees are located, whichever are the most strict.

Yan is also credited with popularizing a cross-dressing movement among coders in China, known as “big dudes in dresses.” In a now-deleted blog post from 2013, he wrote that there would be fewer bugs or errors in his work if he wrote code while cross-dressing.

How Does Mask Network Work?

The Mask Network works via an applet, or small application, that is installed via the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or an extension for your browser.

Once installed, the Mask extension guides you through creating a “persona.” This is very similar to creating a cryptocurrency wallet, including requiring you to write down and store a seed phrase.

Now that you’re set up, you can create an encrypted post on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. The Mask Network takes your unencrypted post, or cleartext, and then encrypts it using a random AES key. This process produces ciphertext, or an encrypted message.

The randomly generated key is then shared with your intended recipient using the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) over secp256k1. The elliptic curve secp256k1 was chosen over alternatives like curve25519 because Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major blockchain platforms also use secp256k1.

Once the random key is shared with the intended recipient(s) of your post, they can retrieve it in order to decrypt your published ciphertext and see the cleartext you sent. The keys themselves are encrypted and synchronized using GunDB, a decentralized graph database developed by Mark Nadal. Of course, Mask doesn’t just work with text posts. You can also share files, including pictures and applications, using it. To learn how to do so, check out this official tutorial. Just as with text posts, only a set of recipients with specific permissions will be able to see the file you upload.

Mask also doesn’t rely on the centralized APIs provided by the social network platforms it sits atop. The Mask team has created a complete polyfill library to implement and support all features and actions needed by the app/extension. This means that Mask will be unaffected by any API changes or platform-level blocking.

The Mask Network also includes a blockchain wallet and allows Gitcoin grant funding and cryptocurrency trading via a Uniswap Interface. Users can even wrap cryptocurrencies like ETH into smart contracts and share them on Twitter for other users to claim.

What Makes Mask Network Unique?

Mask Network founder Suji Yan described the project as a “secret weapon... to open the gates of the Web3.0 world to the users of Web2.0 platforms in a decentralized, non-custodial manner.”

This approach is unique and is in contrast with the more common Web3 approach of building a competing alternative. While this approach certainly has its merits, it faces more hurdles in terms of awareness and adoption.

While many Web3 projects, such as the Brave browser, have experienced significant success, Mask’s approach doesn’t require users to undergo too much change. Interestingly, the approach also stems from Yan’s belief that big tech will remain dominant by buying out any rising competition.

Mask is also part of the BlueSky ecosystem, funded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. BlueSky was set up in December 2019 in order to create a decentralized social media standard or protocol.

However, the ownership of Twitter has changed hands, and according to the Independent, BlueSky’s biggest advocates within Twitter are gone. While BlueSky has launched its own application, BlueSky social, Mask’s participation in BlueSky may no longer be a guarantee that Twitter will continue to allow it.

How is the Mask Network Network Secured?

The Mask Network runs on Ethereum, so it benefits from the security of one of the premier decentralized public ledgers in existence.

Ethereum is now secured by a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism that ensures validators behave properly via a crypto-economic system of incentives.

To become a validator, node operators need to stake a minimum of 32 ETH to the protocol. Many choose to stake far more since rewards for validation are proportional to the amount staked.

The income from these rewards is paired with the threat of confiscation of that same stake in the case of misbehavior. Between the income received from doing a good job and the prospect of losing a sizable investment if they don’t, the vast majority of validators are kept in line.

What is the Use of MASK?

The MASK token gives holders membership in the MaskDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that has ownership of the ecosystem.

Aside from governance, the MASK token is also used for protocol incentivization, development, and premium features.

Who Controls Mask Network?

Mask Network is maintained and developed by Suji Yan’s Dimension but owned by MASK holders via the MaskDAO. MASK holders can vote on the protocol, with each token counting for a single vote when staked on proposal contracts.

Of course, these MASK holders include multiple institutions. Mask Network has raised almost $50 million across multiple funding rounds via sales of the MASK token.

In November 2020, Mask raised $2 million in a round led by HashKey and Hash Global. In February of the following year, Mask raised $3 million from investors, including Fundamental Labs, the Digital Currency Group, and Animoca Brands.

Immediately afterward, Mask went to the public via the MASK Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool (LBP). In this $40 million sale, the MASK token started at $3.90 and ended 36 hours later at $13.22.

Mask also carried out an Initial Twitter Offering (ITO), where users could participate in the launch directly via Twitter.

How Much MASK is In Circulation?

One hundred million MASK tokens were created at genesis in February 2021. The team received 23% of these tokens, and early investors claimed 14.25%.

Almost 40% of the MASK supply went to the reserve, while 7% was allocated to the public offering. The ITO featured 3% of the supply, while the LBP received 4%. 1% of the supply was allocated to airdrops.

MASK tokens have been vested over a three-year period beginning at genesis, and over 68% of the total supply is currently in circulation.

How Do You Buy MASK?

Since MASK is on the Ethereum blockchain, it is very easy to acquire. You can buy MASK tokens on a variety of Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, like Balancer.

You can also simply use the cryptocurrency swap function on the Mask app itself. This engages a variety of exchanges depending on the exact network you use. Mask supports Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, and xDai.

Depending on which network you use to swap tokens, you can use exchanges like Uniswap, SushiSwap, 0x, Balancer, DODO, PancakeSwap, or QuickSwap.

If you prefer centralized exchanges, you’ll find MASK listed on a variety of top platforms. It is usually traded against stablecoins like USDT and USDC, but you can find ETH, BNB, and even fiat pairs.

How Do You Store MASK?

You can store MASK tokens in any Ethereum wallet. Given the reach and network effect of Ethereum, plenty of wallets will do the job, including popular ones like Metamask and Trust Wallet. If you prefer cold wallets, you can store MASK tokens using Ledger and Trezor devices.

You can also create an Ethereum wallet via the Mask Network itself. If you already have a wallet, you can import it into Mask using the seed phrase.

Mask Network Energy Consumption

The Mask Network and MASK token are based on Ethereum, which is a proof-of-stake blockchain.

PoS networks are extremely energy efficient, since validators only require a limited amount of hardware to keep the network running. This is a stark contrast to proof-of-work blockchains, which are more secure the more hardware miners deploy.

Is MASK a Good Investment?

MASK is one of a raft of Web3 projects in the blockchain space, but one that tackles the establishment in its own unique way.

Unlike projects that offer privacy-enabled, non-custodial alternatives to established projects, like Brave vs. Google Chrome, Mask Network isn’t looking to compete. Rather than build a new Twitter or Facebook, Mask simply attempts to latch onto their coattails.

While describing Mask’s relationship with its host platforms as symbiotic may be a stretch, it stands to reason that the continued success of these services will benefit Mask. That said, the slide of these services into further exploitation of their users may also provide Mask with added allure.

What could hurt Mask is the destruction or disappearance of these services. While this eventuality remains unlikely, Meta’s (neé Facebook) stock is both figuratively and literally at historic lows. Twitter is in flux thanks to a change in ownership and is leaking controversy at every turn.

A fracturing of these social media giants into a more competitive industry could see significant players arise who do the same things that Mask does. However, this is a bear case for the ages and highly unlikely given the stranglehold these platforms have on the modern psyche.