Secret Network, a blockchain focused on data privacy, will provide US$ 400 million (about R$ 2.2 billion) to promote the development of new applications and expansion of network use. In addition, it announced that a group of strong investors has bought positions in its Secret cryptocurrency (SCRT). Thus, the startup puts its biggest growth initiative into practice so far and is getting ready to work on Web3.
Of the $400 million, a $225 million fund will go towards expanding the application layer of Secret Network. This includes decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), network infrastructure and tools. The value comes from contributions from 25 investors and partners in the Secret ecosystem. Interested developers, teams and organizations should contact the Secret Ecosystem Fund via the interest form.
Guy Zyskind, Founder and CEO of SCRT Labs, states that “With a strong network of supporters and a passionate global community, Secret Network is entering its most aggressive phase of growth to date. Since our first whitepapers at MIT (Massachusetts Technology Institute) in 2015, we have been working tirelessly to bring data privacy to all blockchains. We invite developers from around the world to join us and build the next generation of Secret apps that will protect and empower millions of global users. We and our partners are here to support and mentor you at every stage.” Interested parties from Brazil, therefore, can seek support for projects on the network.
According to Secret, the other $175 million is the Secret Acceleration Pool, funded by SCRT. And these resources will provide non-diluting capital, that is, financing that does not need to be converted into startup shares. In addition, they will become donations and incentives for the ecosystem to rapidly expand the use of the network.
The pool management is from SCRT Labs. The pool will support critical growth initiatives in DeFi, NFTs, gaming and the metaverse, as well as other essential vertical applications on the Secret Network. Interested developers can submit applications and find more information about the program through the “Grants” area of ​​the Secret Foundation’s GitHub repository.
These funds and the influx of investors such as DeFiance Capital, Alameda Research, CoinFund and HashKey, who bought positions in SCRT, are part of the network’s growth strategy, Shockwave, announced earlier this month.
The announcement follows the auctions of film director Quentin Tarantino’s NFTs on Secret Network. The NFTs are a record of chapters from the original, handwritten screenplay of the Pulp Fiction movie. As well as an exclusive commentary from the award-winning director and screenwriter.
Secret has ambitious expansion plan
Shockwave’s goals for the first half of 2022 are ambitious. One is having hundreds of thousands of new users and launching hundreds of applications. “Our mission is to ensure that applications for Web3 have the data privacy guarantees and custom privacy controls necessary for global adoption,” the company said in a statement.
Secret Network is the first and only blockchain layer 1 mainnet to have privacy by default for smart contracts and applications. “This puts us in an ideal position to achieve this vision,” says the company.
According to the startup, the new investors are already among the main ones in Web3 projects and, with this, will help Secret achieve its goals, along with the other supporters of the ecosystem. “These investors have a proven track record of working closely and in partnership with developers. In addition, they share our vision of global growth and will work with us to drive adoption of Web3’s first privacy technologies, unlocking the true promise of the decentralized web.”
Arthur Cheong, founding partner of DeFiance Capital, which invests in protocols such as Aave, Terra and ConsenSys, stated that “Secret Network is the only blockchain with data privacy by default that allows innovative technologies to avoid, for example, advance information from decentralized exchanges. For him, the network team has been working non-stop on its mission since Enigma, which originated the Secret Network. “Now the ecosystem is ready to handle the next phase of accretion,” he added.
“Secret Network is the first and market leader in solving what is a core Web3 need, namely data privacy applications,” says Brian Lee, partner at Alameda Research. “We look forward to helping accelerate growth across all verticals and aspects.”
For Evan Feng, research director at CoinFund, which invests in projects such as Polkadot and Messari, “the availability of scalable, demonstrable and legally compliant privacy technology is an integral component of Web3’s mass consumption and user-friendly applications. CoinFund is proud to support Secret Network in its mission to enable and accelerate privacy through minimizing trust within the componable layer.”
Secret Ecosystem Fund is for Developers and Founders
The $225 million Secret Ecosystem Fund will provide long-term financial and strategic support to developers and founders building critical applications on the Secret Network. The main objective is to ensure that each person, team and organization has a clear path of sustainability and support to bring their products to market.
“We want developers to confidently build on our ecosystem for years to come. And not just proof-of-concept or limited pilot programs, but truly innovative web privacy applications. And do it in every vertical so that millions of users can use it,” according to Secret.
The network claims that there has already been huge adoption in its first vertical applications, which are DeFi, NFTs, gaming/metaverse and access control. There are over $1.3 billion in trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXes like SecretSwap. In addition, there are thousands of active NFT collectors and platform creators like Stashh. The list also includes several funding rounds from success for applications like Sienna Network, Altermail and Shade Protocol.“Now it’s time to create and support the next generation of shining stars of the Secret ecosystem, while expanding our support for current developers and projects”.
The ecosystem fund is led by SCRT Labs, the core development team that supports Secret Network. It also includes partners, all of whom have positions in SCRT and/or investments in Secret’s application layer, which demonstrates a long-term commitment, says the startup.
The partners are, in addition to those already mentioned, Hashed, Arrington Capital, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Fenbushi Capital, Skyvision Capital, Blocktower Capital, HashKey, Terraform Labs, Hartmann Ventures, NGC Ventures, Figment Capital, Arkstream Capital, Shima Capital, Magnus Capital , Bison Fund, Momentum6, Arca, Iconium, Huobi Ventures, Kucoin Labs and Skynet Trading.
According to Secret, with these partners, the network will inject capital into the ecosystem and provide substantial experience, guidance and mentorship. It will also make it easier for all stakeholders to connect and work collectively to grow Secret Network’s key metrics.
These metrics include, for example, developer activation, community growth, active users, daily transactions and contract interactions, TVL (Total Amount Blocked) on DeFi, and Secret’s active collections of NFTs.
Secret Pool Accelerator
The initiatives that the pool will support, which include DeFi, NFTs, gaming and the metaverse, in addition to other essential vertical applications on the Secret Network, will also follow the metrics of the Secret Ecosystem Fund. In addition, the pool will serve as an initial foundation for developers before they go deep into the ecosystem to work towards the network’s global growth.
More than a dozen initiatives have already received contributions in the form of grants, including development of the Secret NFT implementation reference, the Secret Monero Bridge, developer frameworks such as Polar and Griptape, and more.
What lays ahead
With more products receiving funding and being developed, more developers launching applications on the Secret Network, and more supporters and partners than ever before helping to ensure global growth, the future has never looked brighter for Web3 privacy, says the startup.
Developers should use the Ecosystem Fund xxx and Donation pool xxx links to connect with the SCRT Labs team and ecosystem developers.
People passionate about ensuring that Web3 users have the data privacy protections they need and deserve can become a Secret Agent.