Introduction

This project aims to solve the problem of lack of privacy within the blockchain, most specifically, in the NEAR blockchain. Banking secrecy is assured by law in most democratic countries, and transactions made with fiat currency in the traditional banking system are private. Only the two parties involved in the transaction know about it (other parties such as regulators might also request access).

For crypto to be broadly adopted as an improved financial system, it must not only offer all the new features it proposes but also meet the assurances that the existing financial system gives to its users.

Inside a blockchain, we are not 100% anonymous. We have what is called pseudo-anonymity. It is possible to infer something about a user inspecting its wallet usage using the transaction explorer.

When blockchain becomes mass-adopted and users start to pay for their day-to-day items and services, it is not ideal if the sellers of said services or products could know how much funds you have, with what you spend those funds, etc. That's where privacy comes in.

To have a user-owned internet, we must be transparent and fair. But, that does not mean that everyone must be able to know what everyone is doing. Users must be free to disclose what they are doing, but they should not be forced to do so.

Users might seek privacy for different reasons. There are a few use cases that are valid to be mentioned:

  1. The user is paid in crypto by an employer and doesn't want the employer to know all their financial details.
  2. The user pays for a service using crypto and does not want the service provider to be able to see all they have done on chain.
  3. The user was doxxed and is being harassed online, now want's to move funds to a different wallet without being traced.
  4. The user is a large crypto investor avoiding front run.
  5. The user wants to donate to a polarizing cause.
  6. The user does not want other users to know his address or his wealth.
  7. The user thinks crypto will have mainstream adoption, and everyone will have access to all information (retailers, banks, potential employers), and is afraid that they might not use that information ethically.
  8. Users want to pay for medical services with crypto without disclosing that information to the public.