Project Hydro was launched in March 2018. The project was incubated by Hydrogen, one of the leading fintech API companies in the world, named “Fintech Startup of the Year” by KPMG and “World Changing Technology” by Fast Company. The Hydrogen team knew they were onto something great, when over 10,000 developers answered the original call to action. This is when Project Hydro expanded to be a global, decentralized, and open-source project run by the community for the global community! Now any of you can be a part of Project Hydro and help to change the world.
Project Hydro is managed by a Caymans based entity known as Hydro Labs. The Hydro Labs team are tasked with maintaining the Hydro protocols, encouraging new developers in the ecosystem, and helping companies launch enterprise applications and new infrastructure on top of the ecosystem. The team maintains a treasury of HYDRO tokens that are used to encourage long-term sustainability of the ecosystem by incentivizing new development.
Our Vision
We envision a world where real-world value flows freely on public blockchains – where banks, asset managers, and enterprises can digitally represent assets like bonds, invoices, deposits, and commodities in a standardized and verifiable way. Hydro Raindrop is designed to unlock this next frontier of finance by enabling:
1. True interoperability across blockchains and ecosystems
2. Legal and regulatory compliance as a foundational element, not an afterthought
3. Programmability of real assets for advanced decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases
Our mission is to bridge the gap between traditional private systems and the public blockchain, empowering enterprises and developers to protect sensitive data against the ever-evolving threats of the digital age.
What We Solve
The Problem: A Fragile Security Landscape
Traditional authentication systems, from simple passwords to SMS-based 2FA, are increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated breaches, phishing, and man-in-the-middle attacks. Centralized security providers create “single points of failure” where a compromise of their servers means a compromise of your identity.
The Solution: The Hydro Raindrop Protocol
Raindrop is our flagship authentication protocol designed to enhance security through the power of the Ethereum blockchain. By leveraging decentralized smart contracts, Raindrop provides an additional layer of verification that is globally viewable, immutable, and virtually impossible to spoof.
We offer two distinct flavors of protection:
1. Client-side Raindrop: A next-generation 2FA solution for end-users that replaces traditional, hackable authenticators with a blockchain-based identity.
2. Server-side Raindrop: An enterprise-level protocol that secures APIs and backend databases by requiring a “challenge-response” transaction on the public ledger before access is granted.
Why “Raindrop”?
In nature, a rainstorm is composed of billions of individual droplets, each unique in its size, velocity, and trajectory. Predicting the exact nature of a single drop is impossible. Similarly, every Raindrop authentication transaction is unique and generated through cryptographic randomness. By using Raindrops, both the system and the user can monitor authorization attempts on an immutable public ledger, ensuring that every access request is legitimate.
Our Philosophy: Blockchain Without the Friction
We believe that blockchain technology should be powerful but invisible. Our tools are designed to be “non-intrusive,” allowing companies to maintain their existing workflows while gaining the benefits of decentralization. With Project Hydro, users leverage the security of the blockchain without needing to understand the underlying complexity.
Open Source & Community Driven
Hydro is an open-source project. We believe the best security is built in the light, where code can be audited, improved, and adopted by developers worldwide. We are a global team of engineers, designers, and visionaries dedicated to building a safer, decentralized global economy.