Vitalik Buterin has invested in the security company Nocturne Labs. The startup successfully raised $6 million in seed funding from Vitalik Buterin, Bain Capital Crypto, Polychain Capital, and others. Nocturne Labs aims to enhance privacy features within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Nocturne Labs, established in the U.S. in 2022, focuses on providing privacy solutions for Ethereum users. The project is developing a protocol called Nocturne, combining Account Abstraction and Zero-Knowledge proofs (ZKP) technologies. This enables users to transact anonymously on the Ethereum ecosystem without revealing their wallet addresses.
Luke Tchang, the co-founder and CEO of Nocturne Labs, explained that users will have internal accounts in Nocturne, allowing them to receive/spend money anonymously. The protocol, scheduled to launch its mainnet in November 2023, prioritizes development on the Ethereum Layer-1 ecosystem before expanding to Layer-2 networks.
The project addresses concerns about legal regulations related to privacy-focused crypto platforms, citing examples like Tornado Cash facing scrutiny.
Vitalik Buterin’s investment in Nocturne Labs signals optimism for the cryptocurrency industry, demonstrating support for projects aiming to enhance privacy on Ethereum. This aligns with Ethereum’s co-founder endorsing new security protocols like Privacy Pools as alternatives to platforms like Tornado Cash. The success of Nocturne Labs could significantly advance Ethereum’s ecosystem and make it more appealing to users and businesses interested in privacy features.
