Blockchain
Iron Fish, a Layer 1 blockchain initiative emphasizing transactional privateness by way of zero-knowledge proofs, has launched its mainnet after being in improvement for greater than two years.
The Iron Fish workforce secured $28 million in a funding spherical led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2021. It is performed three testnet phases spanning from 2022 to the primary quarter of 2023 previous to the discharge. There appears to be important curiosity within the Layer 1, which had over 60,000 nodes by the conclusion of its most up-to-date testnet section.
Iron Fish is wading right into a crowded subject of privacy-focused fee networks and blockchain protocols that features zCash, Secret Community, Oasis, Aztec and Aleo.
The blockchain leverages, Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), a cryptographic approach that permits one social gathering to show to a different social gathering that they possess sure info or {that a} particular assertion is true with out revealing any particulars in regards to the info itself. This method can be utilized both to assist blockchains scale or to realize transactional privateness. In Iron Fish’s case, it is the latter.
Iron Fish is a proof-of-work chain
Iron Fish can also be based mostly on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, so customers can function specialised machines to mine the native cryptocurrency of the community. Regardless of the power consumption related to proof of labor, this consensus has confirmed to supply safety in opposition to community takeovers and knowledge manipulation, in addition to keep decentralization.
“Iron Fish is a proof-of-work (PoW) based mostly layer 1 blockchain community, meant to function a fully-compliant privateness layer for digital property and web3,” Elena Nadolinski, founder and CEO of Iron Fish, instructed The Block. “Utilizing zero-knowledge proofs and strong encryption requirements, Iron Fish allows customers to transact in a totally personal approach, with out compromising on accessibility.”
The workforce mentioned it’s aiming to carve out a distinct segment within the privateness sphere by offering native mechanisms that doubtlessly maintain an edge over blockchains the place person tracing is extra easy. They do that by permitting customers to execute nameless and personal transactions utilizing zero-knowledge proofs.
Emphasis on interoperability
Interoperability is one other key side of Iron Fish, the workforce mentioned, enabling customers to bridge property from different blockchains, together with Bitcoin and Ethereum, to facilitate elevated privateness in transactions for customers.
One of many options we have labored exhausting on is that this multi-asset function—that means that Iron Fish can now comprehend totally different property, permitting a bridge operator to bridge property throughout from different chains onto Iron Fish—making Iron Fish a privateness platform for such property.
“We need to help clear bridges which have programmability. So, for example, you would possibly need to transfer an asset from Ethereum over to Iron Fish. You will have the programmability of Ethereum after which if you need the privateness, you progress the property over to Iron Fish to transact, retailer, and swap privately,” Nadolinsky added.
