Nym protects privacy at the network layer by encrypting and relaying your internet traffic through a multi-layered network called a mixnet. In each layer of the mixnet, mix nodes mix your internet traffic with that of other users, making communications private and hiding your metadata (IP address, who you talk to, when and where, and more). The Nym mixnet is incentivized and decentralized. Users pay a fee in NYM to send their data through the mixnet. By pledging an initial bond of NYM, anyone can run a mix node. Node runners are then rewarded in NYM tokens based on good quality of service, doing the work of mixing packets and providing privacy for the end users. This is called ‘proof of mixing,’ similar to how Bitcoin rewards miners for mining new blocks. The reward mechanism enables the mixnet to scale and decentralize. Nym can work with any application. From Bitcoin to ZCash, no current “layer 1” blockchain provides “layer 0 privacy” for the peer-to-peer broadcasts used in every transaction. Nym can provide network-level privacy for any blockchain and other generic applications. From Bitcoin to instant messaging, developers can build their applications on top of Nym for network layer and metadata protection of their users.