Ernst & Young Announces Two New Blockchain Products’ Updates
TechnologyBit News Today2 min read
Ernst & Young (EY), one of the Big Four professional services firms, announced on a Tuesday that it would be releasing two blockchain products. These updates come as part of a broader push by EY to establish blockchain as a mainstream technology. The firm debuted the enhanced products at the EY Global Blockchain Summit, showcasing their commitment to expanding the adoption of distributed ledger technology within enterprise circles.
An Open-Source Privacy Protocol
Among the key updates, EY announced the release of a privacy protocol, internally codenamed "Nightfall," into the public domain. This protocol leverages zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to enable private transactions on the public Ethereum blockchain. Nightfall, first unveiled at the Ethereum Devcon in Prague in October 2018, has undergone improvements in performance since its initial debut. The decision to release the technology into the public domain, according to Paul Brody, EY’s global innovation leader, is aimed at accelerating the adoption of secure and private blockchain transactions.
The protocol accommodates payments using ERC-20-compatible fungible tokens alongside transfers of unique assets conforming to the ERC-721 standard. This supports the creation and management of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a capability exemplified by the popular CryptoKitties collectibles. EY’s dedication to Ethereum becomes evident as they seek to guide corporate adoption towards this open-source blockchain, supported by a robust developer community and the Solidity smart contract language.
The inclusion of Nightfall within Microsoft's Azure cloud environments and its integration with enterprise software from SAP provide an additional layer of familiarity for clients adopting the protocol. This strategic decision is orchestrated to mitigate concerns and facilitate a smoother transition for enterprises venturing into public blockchain utilization.
Beyond Nightfall: Smart Contract Security and Comprehensive Analytics
In parallel to the Nightfall release, EY rolled out a second-generation version of its Blockchain Analyzer. While the first generation was created solely for internal audit teams at EY, the new edition will be made accessible to the public. It boasts advanced analytics features, including trend analysis and the detection of outliers, providing valuable evidence for audits spanning various industries.
EY also announced the launch of the EY Smart Contract Analyzer, a smart contract testing and security service for public Ethereum created by its blockchain security lab in Israel. This service offers a comprehensive suite of over 250 standard tests for smart contracts and tokens, ensuring they comply with established industry standards and free from known vulnerabilities. EY’s patent-pending simulation software allows organizations to test token behavior against anticipated transaction scenarios, using real data from the public Ethereum blockchain. For general availability, the smart contract testing service will be incorporated into the EY Blockchain Analyzer, the firm's platform for analytics, tax, and monitoring.
EY points out that the true value of blockchain becomes noticeable when it is embraced publicly, as has been the case with the public cloud. They add that, as the blockchain space flourishes, the overwhelming majority of capital raised and developer activity continues to center around the Ethereum blockchain.
