What is DERO?
A privacy-focused blockchain platform that uses homomorphic encryption for fully encrypted transactions and supports private smart contracts.
DERO is a unique blockchain that achieves privacy through homomorphic encryption rather than the ring signature approach used by Monero.
Key Innovations
- Homomorphic Encryption: Balances and data are never decrypted on-chain. Operations are performed on encrypted data.
- Private Smart Contracts: Execute smart contracts while keeping data private — a capability no other major blockchain offers
- Account-Based Model: Unlike UTXO chains, DERO uses encrypted accounts for instant balance queries
- Same-Block Confirmation: Transactions settle in ~18 seconds in the same block they're sent
Technical Details
- Written from scratch in Golang (not a fork)
- AstroBWT mining algorithm (CPU-friendly, ASIC-resistant)
- Sigma mining distributes rewards to all miners proportionally
- TLS-encrypted UDP peer-to-peer network
- DVM-BASIC smart contract language
Privacy Token Creation
DERO allows creating custom tokens with the same homomorphic encryption as the native coin. Token balances are encrypted — even the token issuer can't see holders' balances.
Resources
- Documentation: https://derod.org
- Foundation: https://derofoundation.org
Related Terms
Homomorphic Encryption
A form of encryption that allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it first, preserving privacy during processing.
Privacy Coin
A cryptocurrency designed with built-in privacy features that hide transaction amounts, sender and receiver addresses, or both.
Ring Signatures
A cryptographic technique that allows someone to sign a message on behalf of a group, making it impossible to determine which group member actually signed.
Stealth Address
A technique where the sender generates a unique, one-time address for each transaction, preventing observers from linking transactions to the receiver.
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