Twitter Picks Crypto Developer Jay Graber to Run Decentralized Social Media Wing

Crypto developer Jay Graber will lead Twitter’s efforts to create a decentralized social media protocol.

Graber, who contributed to privacy coin project Zcash until October 2018, announced the news Monday on Twitter:

“Efforts to decentralize social networks hope to structurally change the balance of power in favor of users by giving them the ability to change services easily and control their identity and data,” Graber wrote in a blog post in January 2020.

More recently, Graber won a grant from the Ethereum Foundation to further her efforts with a project called InterRep. That project aims to ensure accounts you interact with on social media are “reputable” – but with a focus on privacy and decentralization.

Bluesky, which was first announced in December 2019, teased Graber’s hire on Aug. 5:

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey chimed in Monday, saying Graber’s appointment represents “Another step towards decentralizing Twitter and social media.”