> Is anyone speaking about them in the context of Web3 or is it all ETH, XRP and maybe two more?
Aztec Network, Tornado Cash, and Starkware all run on top of Ethereum... Aztec and Starkware are currently in the community spotlight because they're rollups or so-called "Layer 2s" that push the state of the art of Ethereum's tech (and the state of the art in zero knowledge cryptography, especially Starkware's CAIRO language and their EVM to zero knowledge proof circuit transpiler). Tornado Cash has over $4B in deposits, and for many is the go-to way to anonymize transactions on Ethereum.
Ernst & Young released Baseline last year, a zero-knowledge cryptography toolkit for operating private data services on the public Ethereum network.
The answer to "who cares" is basically the entire nascent industry, plus a handful of mathematicians and cryptographers - if you are paying attention.
Aztec Network, Tornado Cash, and Starkware all run on top of Ethereum... Aztec and Starkware are currently in the community spotlight because they're rollups or so-called "Layer 2s" that push the state of the art of Ethereum's tech (and the state of the art in zero knowledge cryptography, especially Starkware's CAIRO language and their EVM to zero knowledge proof circuit transpiler). Tornado Cash has over $4B in deposits, and for many is the go-to way to anonymize transactions on Ethereum.
Ernst & Young released Baseline last year, a zero-knowledge cryptography toolkit for operating private data services on the public Ethereum network.
The answer to "who cares" is basically the entire nascent industry, plus a handful of mathematicians and cryptographers - if you are paying attention.