Cardano Joins Ripple, Hedera, And Other Crypto Giants In New Alliance

Input | Output, the research and engineering entity behind Cardano, along with Hedera, have been named the final founding members of the Decentralized Recovery (DeRec) Alliance, a new coalition aimed at fostering interoperability and enhanced security across the crypto industry. The alliance, established by leaders within the Hedera and Algorand ecosystems and formalized in January 2024, already includes prominent crypto organizations such as Algorand Foundation, Hashgraph (formerly Swirlds Labs), Ripple, and XRPL Labs as foundational pillars.

The alliance was launched by Hedera co-Founder Dr. Leemon Baird, who highlighted the collaborative effort spanning multiple ecosystems in a press release on Thursday. “We are happy to welcome Input Output as a founding member. Their deep expertise and insight will be a great asset to the DeRec Alliance,” Dr. Baird remarked.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and CEO of Input | Output emphasized the alignment with the company’s foundational principles. “Input Output has always been committed to open-source principles, cross-industry collaboration, and blockchain interoperability. As an industry seeking to drive wider adoption, we should all be committed to the relentless pursuit of security, accessibility, and improving the user experience,” the Cardano founder explained.

The DeRec Alliance introduces an open-source, industry-standard protocol that simplifies the recovery of digital assets, which is critical for everyday users and developers within the blockchain ecosystem. John Woods, CTO of the Algorand Foundation, pointed out the broader implications of inadequate user experience in Web3. “Web3 has fallen short in delivering a great UX for securing and recovering key material,” Woods stated.

The DeRec Alliance aims to address these shortcomings by providing streamlined key recovery processes and further decentralizing other important infrastructures, which are essential for the security and accessibility of digital assets. The founding members of the DeRec Alliance, including Input | Output and Hedera, will hold two-year terms on the Technical Oversight Committee (TOC), contributing their expertise to the governance structure and core policies of the alliance.

Their leadership is expected to maintain the strategic focus of the alliance and effectively address the evolving needs of its growing community. Charles Adkins, President of Hedera, expressed pride in joining the alliance and contributing to the enhancement of asset protection.

“From the very beginning, Hedera has been at the forefront of digital asset security. The DeRec Alliance takes this one step further by introducing an open-source protocol that simplifies asset recovery, aligning closely with our mission to enable a new era of trust and transparency,” Adkins commented.

Alliance members also play a crucial role in shaping the direction of the DeRec Alliance by providing policy input and overseeing the development of DeRec-based solutions. They engage in quarterly meetings and contribute to policy discussions, nominating candidates for and voting in TOC elections. This diverse group includes new members like DLT Science Foundation, Hashpack, Oasis Protocol Foundation, and Palisade, each bringing unique capabilities and perspectives to the alliance.

“The DeRec Alliance is a group of forward-thinking companies from across Web2 and Web3 that are committed to making the process of securing and recovering digital assets, accounts, and other secrets as simple as existing Web2 experiences. […] IO will hold a two-year term on the Technical Oversight Committee (TOC), offering critical input on the Alliance’s governance structure and core policies,” the Cardano developer added via X.

The DeRec protocol itself is designed around a secret-sharing approach among a set of helpers, such as friends or businesses, who assist in the recovery of secrets when needed. This approach ensures that no individual helper can access the complete secret, enhancing security and reducing the risks associated with centralized points of failure.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.3264.