When DNA testing firm 23andMe introduced final week that it will file for chapter, a wave of hypothesis adopted.
What would occur to the troves of delicate genetic knowledge from over 15 million folks worldwide that it had collected over time?
On Thursday, layer one blockchain developer Sei Community introduced on X that its governing physique, the Sei Basis, was bidding to amass 23andMe.
The acquisition would give customers management of their genetic knowledge by means of encrypted, confidential transfers, permitting people to determine how their knowledge is accessed and monetized, in accordance with the Sei Basis.
The Sei Basis known as the transfer “the boldest DeSci guess but.”
“We consider consumer knowledge sovereignty is a matter of nationwide safety,” Sei Community wrote. “When an American biotech pioneer faces chapter, private genomic knowledge of tens of millions turns into susceptible to events that won’t share the identical values of transparency and open entry.”
Launched in 2021, Sei Community is an open-source Layer 1 blockchain for buying and selling.
It has a built-in order-matching engine, quick finality through Twin Turbo consensus, and market-based parallelization to run decentralized finance purposes, NFT collections, and exchanges.
“Historically, well being knowledge is managed by a small set of centralized actors. We wish to put management again into the palms of these it belongs to,” the Head of Decentralized Science on the Sei Basis, Eleanor Davies, instructed Decrypt.
“Our high-performance blockchain is designed to deal with the huge scale required for 15 million customers’ genetic datasets whereas guaranteeing privateness and safety.”
Information, a prime precedence
Whereas she didn’t go into particulars on the info structure, Davies mentioned Sei would create a safe platform that encrypts all delicate knowledge, and customers can select when to share their info.
“It will probably contain a hybrid method utilizing each private and non-private keys,” Davies mentioned. “This enables the system to deal with the huge measurement of genomic datasets whereas leveraging blockchain for knowledge sovereignty and permissions.
“Sei will even companion with best-in-class trade specialists and safety specialists to make sure that knowledge integrity is maintained,” Davies added.
For the reason that 23andMe acquisition announcement on March 27, the Sei token has slid practically 18%, from $0.21 to $0.17.
“We take management over your knowledge extremely severely, and examine it as a nationwide safety problem, Davies mentioned.
She added that a number of “key mechanisms” will be deployed, the place customers can decide in to share particular knowledge, with the power to pick out when and the place their knowledge is used whereas taking part “instantly in the advantages.”
One other hype or legit use case?
Nonetheless, questions stay about how the Sei Basis may realistically ship on its promise.
Blockchain ventures are sometimes recognized for grand ambitions, however is that this a transformative second or extra techno-utopian hype?
Based in 2006, 23andMe is a direct-to-consumer genetics firm providing at-home DNA testing kits to assist customers discover their ancestry, well being traits, and genetic dangers.
In recent times, declining demand for DNA testing and problem producing repeat clients, amongst different points, have contributed to monetary struggles and operational setbacks.
Not everybody, together with Professor Ahmed Banafa, a expertise knowledgeable and engineering professor at San Jose State College, is satisfied that blockchain is the proper resolution for genomic knowledge storage.
“There are a couple of issues,” Banafa mentioned. “Primary: the dimensions of the blockchain can’t deal with the amount of human DNA. In order that they should get artistic.”
He famous that one workaround is to encrypt the DNA knowledge and retailer solely the encryption key on the blockchain.
“One other concern is entry,” he added. “If it’s my knowledge, I ought to management who sees it. Sensible contracts may also help by letting customers grant or revoke entry immediately—no kinds, no ready.”
Hurdles to success
Banafa additionally pointed to the authorized and regulatory hurdles that Sei must overcome.
“Legal guidelines just like the California Client Privateness Act, the Genetic Data Safety Act, and probably HIPAA may come into play,” he mentioned. “Even when HIPAA doesn’t apply to direct-to-consumer providers, authorities oversight continues to be very potential.”
Per week earlier than 23andMe’s chapter announcement, California Legal professional Common Rob Bonta issued a shopper alert on the corporate’s monetary points.
The alert reminded clients that they’ve the proper to have their genetic knowledge deleted. Different Legal professional Generals from New York, Maryland, Alabama, and Washington, D.C., additionally issued shopper alerts about 23andMe.
Banafa famous that defending consumer knowledge would require a closed system designed in order that solely approved people may retrieve delicate info.
However even with strict controls in place, making an attempt to cram large datasets into restricted on-chain area isn’t sensible, particularly at scale.
“Storing gigabytes of information in a small block doesn’t make sense, particularly with tens of millions of customers,” he mentioned. “It will be too gradual. They’ll want a wise system—entry codes, added safety—the place your encrypted knowledge lives in decentralized storage, utilizing one thing like SHA-256.”
Banafa additionally emphasised safety as a big concern, highlighting blockchain bridges as a possible assault vector within the blockchain ecosystem.
In 2022, the Ronin Community was hacked when attackers exploited a vulnerability and stole over $600 million in digital property from the Ethereum sidechain.
“The core expertise is safe,” he mentioned, “However these bridges are weak factors, and hackers have exploited them to steal billions in crypto.”
Edited by James Rubin and Sebastian Sinclair
Day by day Debrief Publication
Begin on daily basis with the highest information tales proper now, plus unique options, a podcast, movies and extra.