Ethereum Watch

Panther Protocol, an end-to-end privacy protocol that can be used across DeFi, has raised $8 million from over 140 investors in a private token sale.

Panther Offers DeFi Privacy

Panther Protocol, one of DeFi’s latest privacy-preserving solutions, has raised $8 million in a funding round. The raise came from over 140 participants, including Alphabit Fund, Arcanum Capital, Black Dragon, DeepVentures, Defiants, Ellipti, Moonwhale, Protocol Ventures, Kosmos VC, Rarestone Capital, and Titans Ventures. 

The funds will be used for the development of the protocol, which is interoperable with a range of DeFi applications. 

Privacy is considered one of DeFi’s missing jigsaw pieces today. While DeFi brings the world a permissionless and non-custodial financial system, many of those looking to preserve their identity find it cumbersome to use. When a person’s real identity is linked to a blockchain address, all of the transactions they make through that address are easily traceable. For example, many high-net-worth Uniswap traders find it difficult to execute their trades efficiently due to the visibility of Ethereum. Such large traders face the risk of being front-run by other traders or bots.

Panther is hoping to solve those problems. As planned in its roadmap, the protocol will allow users to deposit cryptocurrencies from a variety of chains and mint collateralized synthetic assets called zAssets. Each zAsset will be private. 

According to the team, anyone can issue private synthetics of various digital tokens, including zBTC, zETH, and zUSDT. These tokens can then be used across various DeFi applications. Oliver Gale, Panther Protocol CEO and co-founder, said in a press release: 

“We believe zAssets will become an ever-expanding asset class for users who want their transactions and strategies the way they should always have been: private. Stablecoins, utility tokens and NFTs will all become infused with privacy.”

The Power of zk-SNARKs 

zAssets will use zk-SNARKs, a type of cryptographic proof that shows someone possesses a piece of information without revealing it. The same technology is used in one of the leading privacy coins, Zcash. Such assets obfuscate the information involved in an on-chain trade, including wallet addresses and the assets exchanged. That way, all of the metadata linked to blockchain transactions remains private. 

The project will support zAssets across several blockchains, known as “peerchains.” Panther’s peerchains will initially include Ethereum, Polkadot, Solana, Cosmos, Flare, Binance Smart Chain, and Avalanche.

Besides zAssets, the project also plans to implement several dark pools called “Panther Pools.” These will be used to gather liquidity and execute trades. Those who contribute liquidity to the pools, known as “privacy miners,” will be rewarded with the Panther network’s native token, ZKP. 

As per the project’s litepaper, Panther Pools will enable institutional and retail users to obfuscate and transact compliantly on peerchains using the help of zAssets.

If successful, the project will be competition for several existing solutions that achieve privacy with Ethereum’s smart contracts. These include Ethereum bridge networks such as Secret Network and Incognito, as well as transaction mixers like Tornado.Cash. 

Panther can also be deployed in a compliant way on any public blockchain through “selective private disclosures” so that financial privacy can be balanced with regulations. 

Following the fundraiser, the team will offer its ZKP tokens in a public sale. 

This news was brought to you by ANKR, our preferred DeFi Partner.