Secret Network, a privacy-enabled layer-1 blockchain that utilizes hardware and software-based privacy technologies to protect data, announced today that multiple organizations have acquired large positions in SCRT, the native coin of the Secret Network blockchain, totaling $11.5 million.
The investment was led by Arrington Capital and BlockTower Capital and also include Spartan Group and Skynet Trading. These funds and liquidity providers will help support the growth of privacy-preserving applications on Secret Network, including its DeFi and NFT ecosystems.
These investors join other major funds already participating in the Secret Network ecosystem, including Outlier Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, and Hashed, as well as key ecosystem contributors such as Secret Foundation and Enigma MPC and experienced node operators such as Figment and Staked.
The aim is to grow user and developer adoption of Secret Network and its applications, as well as Secret Network’s growing front-running resistant, privacy-first decentralized financial ecosystem (Secret DeFi).
In addition, leading liquidity provider Skynet Trading will in the future continue providing liquidity to SCRT on multiple exchanges.
Privacy + Cosmos SDK
Secret Network’s blockchain features privacy-preserving smart contracts, which launched on mainnet in September 2020. This means all decentralized applications built on Secret Network have data privacy by default, helping protect users, boost security, and improve usability.
The Secret Network blockchain itself is based on Cosmos SDK / Tendermint, meaning the network has its own independent consensus, on-chain governance, and features like slashing and delegation. It is secured by the native coin Secret (SCRT), which must be staked by network validators and is used for transaction and computation fees as well as governance.
Data privacy is becoming a key narrative in the blockchain space. To date, all blockchains (such as Ethereum and Polkadot) have been public by default, forcing all data to be exposed when interacting with applications or assets. This leaves users and applications vulnerable and heavily restricts what can be built on blockchains. Secret Network’s unique functionality unlocks many new types of applications across multiple Web 3.0 verticals, including decentralized finance, NFTs, access control, and more.
“Secret is the first blockchain ecosystem to prioritize privacy. financial privacy is critical to individual freedom, and Arrington Capital has long been committed to financial privacy and censorship resistance,” said Michael Arrington, Founder of Arrington Capital.
Ecosystem
The Secret Network ecosystem has solid growth in 2021 thanks to the launch of multiple new native applications, including SecretSwap, the first front-running resistant, cross-chain AMM with privacy protections. Daily gas use has grown nearly 3,000% since January, and the number of active Secret accounts (not including exchange addresses) has grown 500%. Over $100M in Ethereum assets are currently being used within the Secret DeFi ecosystem, and multiple bridges to additional ecosystems are in development, including Binance Smart Chain, Cosmos, Polkadot, Monero, Bitcoin, and more.
More critical applications are in development across the Secret Network ecosystem, including Secret NFTs – non-fungible tokens that allow for private ownership as well as public and private metadata. These unique capabilities enable new use cases for NFTs across collectibles, blockchain-based gaming, digital media, marketplace, content monetization, and representation of real-world assets. Multiple Secret Apps leveraging Secret NFTs are being developed for launch in Q2 2021.
“Of all the networks in all the world, we chose Secret because it was a yes-yes-yes-brainer,” said Monty Munford, Chief Evangelist and Core Contributor to Sienna Network, which is building their platform on Secret Network. “They understand privacy and we understand DeFi; match made in heaven.”
Developers interested in building their own apps on Secret Network are invited to learn more about the Secret Network Grant Program, which leverages an ecosystem pool with over $60M in assets to support development. Developers can also apply for the Secret Fellows Program; where they can receive compensation and mentorship while building critical network tooling and apps for Secret Network.
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