Ethereum privacy protocol Secret Network announced support for two more ERC-20 tokens, Yearn Finance (YFI) and Uniswap (UNI). From now on, users will be able to send anonymous transactions on DeFi without being tracked. As originally planned, Secret Network launched today on December 14 after successfully completing its testnet.
The Secret Network is an Ethereum cross-bridge that allows users to create anonymous and private transactions at low costs. Compared to other privacy protocols, Secret Network also supports cryptocurrencies other than Ether (ETH). The project will finally launch on December 14, offering a multitude of ERC-20 tokens.
Developers have first talked about this project in September when the Secret Network became the first layer 1 privacy-enabled blockchain network. Since then, the network has attracted enormous attention from both users and developers alike. By December, Secret Network has already gained 48 active mainnet validators out of the maximum 50.
Apart from anonymizing transactions, Secret Network features a variety of other DeFi-based features as well. For example, the network runs a cross-chain AMM through which traders can gather liquidity from multiple spots. In a blog post, the team also revealed that they will add support to stable coins and Tendermint chains.
For the developers, creating the Secret Ethereum Bridge is a ‘massive milestone’. It will bring forth cheaper transactions for all Ethereum and Ethereum-based assets. Moreover, it supports the creation of synthetic ERC-20 tokens which can enable privacy features.
Per the original announcement, the Secret Network launches today on December 14. Users can deposit all kinds of assets on the Secret Network, including YFI and UNI. By doing so, they can create private versions of them which are then transacted on the native blockchain network. ETH holders can also participate in bridge mining and earn SCRT rewards for locking and receiving tokens.
Is privacy really that important for Ethereum?
Privacy and anonymity are two aspects that are massively favored by cryptocurrency enthusiasts. They are deemed to be the fundamental features of blockchain technology and that they must be safeguarded at all costs. However, most cryptocurrencies in this market have stopped focusing on privacy for a long time. The age of privacy-focused blockchain networks has long passed, replaced by those projects who focus on scalability.
But is privacy really that important for Ethereum in the end? From the perspective of an enthusiast, this feature is definitely a part of the greater cryptographic subculture that seeks complete decentralization. Therefore, developers should implement the feature in as many projects as possible.
However, the average investor and trader should really not care about privacy. If you are someone who only follows the money, then exchanges are the only thing that you should worry about. Most within the community believe that we should leave the bigger questions to technically-minded developers who actually create the platforms that we use.
Since there is a big divide between users on the question of privacy, there is no real and concrete answer. It may be a valuable asset in the future, but for now, there is really no need to implement anonymous transactions. This is especially true considering that we have not even fixed scalability and other problems.