The DNA 23andme test firm has been bankrupt, and now the genomic data of its 15 million users is sold to the highest bidder. Can that data end with the blockchain?
The company announced On March 23 it filed for the protection of losses in chapter 11 and that its CEO, Anne Wojcicki, dropped. The announcement sent waves of concern to 23andme customers, many of them scramble to delete their data from the service.
Privacy advocates and government officials look alike in the situation, Encouraging Users to download and then delete their Data ASAP. The feeling of ease increased on March 26 when a Judge The official approved seal provided 23andme to sell user data. But there is still a question of where users should transfer their data and if ultimately a better alternative.
At the end of the losses, blockchain advocates got the opportunity to make the case that DNA is better at blockchain – whether directly stored on the servers of a decentralized network or using some web3 technology elements in the background.
The promise of a more private 23andMe, in which users control their own data, is attractive to many – yet it really brings the world to the DNA in the blockchain without its own unique challenges.
23andme’s complex history of privacy
The 23andMe may be known for selling DNA test kits and offers ancestral and health reports, but the basic business model is really centered on selling its customers’ genetic data to pharmaceutical companies and other researchers.
The company’s privatization policy states that it will only share a user’s DNA with a third party if the user provides permission. Around 80% of its users eventually Mag -opt in This Agreement. 23andMe also claims that any user information does not identify before being shared, even if it is unimaginable that a person’s unique genetic data can still be linked to them.
One December 2024 Study Through Data Removal Service Incogni found that 23andMe’s privacy policy is actually one of its strongest competitors. Critical, though, the agreement also states that user data can be sold or transferred if the company is obtained – and that the new -owned may not have the same privacy policy.
How DNA test services use. Source: Unknown
Darius Belejevas, head of Incogni, told Cointelegraph that customers give their genetic data to companies such as 23andMe under the thought of protecting it under the terms of privacy they agreed on. “A sale of losses fundamentally changes the terms of that Agreement, which potentially expose their most sensitive biological information to be used by the highest bidder,” he said.
“But again, we see a regulation gap in the data collection industry, which, in this case, is likely to leave 23andme users who do not know what is really going on with their physical examples and sensitive information.”
Privacy policy concerns Besides, 23andme also faced data leaks. In 2023, the hackers stolen Ancestor data for about 6.9 million users – almost half of the entire customer base at that time. Particularly about hack may be specifically targeted by Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese users.
A user of an online forum says sells stolen 23andme data in October 2023. Source: Resecurity
Security experts warned that stolen genomic information can be used to perform Identity theft or even design of the targeted bioweapons. Back in July 2022, US lawmakers and military officials released a Warning In Aspen Security Forum the data hold of DNA testing services – specifically calling 23andMe – are potential targets for foreign opponents who want to develop bioweapons.
“There are now weapons under the development, and developed, designed to target specific people,” said Representative Jason Crow, a democrat from Colorado sitting at the House Intelligence Committee. “That’s what it is, where you can really take someone’s DNA, you know, their medical profile, and you can target a biological weapon that will kill that person.”
The placement of 23andme on the blockchain
Putting DNA on the blockchain is not an idea of the novel; Genecoin built it Earlier in 2014. But 23andMe losses make titles, and many blockchain projects integrate Momentum to do their own pitches for why they offer a better alternative than 23andme.
At least four potential buyers have public stated Their interest in 23andme, and one of them is The SEI Foundation – The organization dedicated to the promotion of the SEI blockchain. The exact mechanics of how the 23andme foundation will bring to the blockchain is not completely clear, but it rewritten On March 31 it will ensure that “one of the most important ownership of the country – the health of its people, has survived the chain.”
Source: Be
Phil Mataras, founder of the decentralized cloud network Ar.io – built above Arweave – said the transition was a “flashy, but kapana -excited expectation” in comments shared with Cointelegraph. “Data will be safer and tamper resistant than any other type of centralized data storage solution.”
AR.IO itself is pushing for 23andme users to download their data and transfer it to ardrive decentralized storage solution, which has Na -Published A step-by-step guide explaining how to upload the data to an encrypted drive.
“This is something you can do now, and then you don’t have to worry about what happens to your data, as it’s no longer in the 23andme database,” Mataras said.
Blockchain Project Genomes.io, which describes itself as “the largest database of the world-owned genomics,” has seen new users covering the platform from 23andme losses. “Hundreds of new users each week joined us,” its CEO, Aldo de Pape, told Cointelegraph.
According to De Pape, “this is a clear case of use for decentralized technology to improve a process that has been refined from the beginning, and where the essence of returning data sovereignty to individuals, returning health information to an individual, ensuring that the owner and health data are one.”
Genomes.io uploaded users’ genomic data to the so-called “vaults,” which is end-to-end encrypted so that only the user holds the private keys needed to access the data. It also means that the DNA of users will still be secured if the company has ever been hacked or sold.
Users can opt on specific studies on a case basis, and they can be paid to the native project token when their data is used.
Related: Stop giving your DNA data for free at 23andme, says Genomes.io CEO
Another solution, Genobank, has an alternative approach: tokenizing genetic information onchain as “bionfts.” The company offers DNA test kits that are linked to unimaginable tokens that the customer is watching, which means they can sequence their DNA unlikely.
“What if this moment of interruption could be a catalyst for positive change?” Question Its CEO, Daniel Uribe, in a blog post on March 24. Like Genomes.io, Uribe laid out a vision in which everyone owned their data, controlled the accessible, capturing its value and maintaining privacy.
“It’s not science fiction. Technology exists today.”
Blockchain has its own concerns
Despite the current hype around bringing a blockchain to DNA, there are still challenges for doing so, and decentralized solutions offer their own set of potential risks.
If a customer mistakes private keys to their genomic data, there is only a lot of projects or company to do to help them. Perhaps more scary is the idea of a user who hates their private keys and stole their genomic data.
De Pape said that Genomes.io, for its part, will work with customers to secure their vaults if their private keys are compromised, even if they can’t really lock a user’s vault.
Then there are additional privacy concerns at the laboratory level. Although the final data is stored in the most prevailing, safe way possible, the sequences of the laboratories themselves may not follow the same strict guidelines.
In terms of uploading DNA data directly into the blockchain, there may be an astronomical cost associated. A raw whole genome condemnation -following file generated by a laboratory can up to 30 GB. This means uploading raw files for 15 million customers – the total number of people who gave their DNA to 23andme – in a decentralized storage solution such as ARWEAVE costs $ 492 million until April 1.
450,000 TB of raw DNA data costs nearly half a billion dollars to upload to ARWEAVE. Source: Arweave fees
“Don’t upload it (DNA) to the blockchain. That’s the biggest mistake you can make,” De Pape argued. In addition to the cost, he said there were privacy concerns.
Blockchain, more often than not, is a public space, right? So, even if you put it on the blockchain, it doesn’t mean it’s completely private to you. There is a track record of uploading data there.
Finally, regulations add another layer of complexity in this regard. A 2020 study written on the part of the Uribe of Genobank Found Regulatory regulations such as the general regulation of EU data protection, which sets strict guidelines for handling user data, “developed some challenges for lawyers, data processors and business businesses engaged in blockchain offerings, especially if it belongs to high -scale data sets such as genomic data.
So, while the blockchain certainly offers many benefits to centralized companies like 23andme, it’s not Panacea, and it may not be for everyone.
But regardless of where users choose to transfer their data, the message from privacy advocates and security experts remains clear: do not leave it 23andMe.
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