A Glance at COBRA’s Recent Successes and Upcoming Activities

In recent weeks, the Centre for Blockchain Research Aarhus, commonly known as COBRA, has been making progress in the field of cryptography. This distinguished body of researchers and experts has continuously worked on advancing the industry with their innovative research and insightful presentations. Let’s take a moment to review their achievements and glance at what’s on the horizon.May and June 2023COBRA started their summer on a high note! On May 30, 2023, their head, Bas Spitters, made an impactful presentation at the prestigious Fintech Tuesday. His discussion underscored COBRA’s commitment to the fusion of finance and technology and set a remarkable precedent for subsequent events.Following this, from June 6 to 8, COBRA’s Aarhus Crypto group hosted the Conference on Information-Theoretic Cryptography 2023 (ITC 2023). This conference became a magnet for the brightest minds globally, eager to explore the complexities of information-theoretic cryptography. For those who want to revisit the event or learn more, you can find the details here.Without skipping a beat, the Aarhus Crypto group then hosted the Theory and Practice of Multiparty Computation 2023 (TPMPC 2023) workshop from June 8 to 9. This event brought the evolving field of multiparty computation into the spotlight. You can check out the workshop details here.Upcoming EventsAs we continue into summer, COBRA’s involvement in the world of cryptography remains strong. First up, COBRA researcher Mathias Hall-Andersen and co-authors will present their paper, “Curve Trees: Practical and Transparent Zero-Knowledge Accumulators,” at the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium 2023 (USENIX 2023), which takes place from August 9 to 11. The paper, demonstrating an application to anonymous transactions, exemplifies COBRA’s dedication to pioneering solutions in the field. You can find more details here and the full paper here.Later in August, COBRA will make a strong appearance at Crypto 2023, the 43rd International Cryptology Conference, in Santa Barbara, USA. COBRA researcher Claudio Orlandi and co-authors will present two groundbreaking papers: “Two-Round Stateless Deterministic Two-Party Schnorr Signatures From Pseudorandom Correlation Functions” and “Secure Multiparty Computation from Threshold Encryption based on Class Groups.” You can access these papers here and here respectively.Crypto 2023, organized by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), is an annual event covering all aspects of cryptology. It provides a platform for COBRA to continue contributing to the cryptographic community.This recap and preview of COBRA’s activities underscore their ongoing commitment to cryptographic exploration and innovation. As observers, supporters, or collaborators, your role in this journey is valued. Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting advancements from the forefront of research and development in the realm of cryptography.