MIT will launch a new blockchain platform in beta soon which provides access to stored private data. Companies will be able to analyse it without entering into customers' personal details.

The project is developed by a bitcoin entrepreneur, a MIT grad student and his MIT advisor. The technology behind the platform is based on multi-party computation guaranteed by a secret-sharing scheme. Blockchain is utilised as the controller of the network replacing a third party and enabling autonomous control of personal data.

“Many companies today store large amounts of customer data. They use the data to provide personalized services, match individual preferences, target ads and offers, etc. With Enigma, companies can use the data for the same purposes they do today, without actually storing or processing the data on their servers, removing security risks and assuring the privacy of their customers,” the Enigma's white paper states.

In April the Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched a bitcoin initiative in its Media Lab, in order to bring together global experts in cryptography and distributed systems. MIT professor behind the Enigma project Alex “Sandy” Pentland is also involved in the Media Lab bitcoin initiative.

Sonya Belova