Privacy-Focused Blockchain Fhenix Raises $7 Million in Seed Round
Blockchain company Fhenix has successfully raised $7 million in a seed funding round led by Multicoin Capital and Collider Ventures. Other participants in the round include Node Capital, Bankless, HackVC, TaneLabs, Metaplanet, Tarun Chitra’s Robot Ventures, and Robert Leshner’s Robot Ventures. The funds will be used to launch Fhenix’s “confidential” smart contract platform on a public testnet called “Renaissance” early next year. The funding will also support the development of the ecosystem after the private devnet launch in July.
Fhenix CEO Guy Itzhaki believes that their encrypted smart contracts will enable developers to explore new business opportunities on the blockchain. These opportunities include trustless gaming, private voting for DAOs, privacy-preserving AI, and more. Guy Zyskind, the founder of Fhenix and Secret Network, added that Fhenix addresses a significant problem in the Ethereum ecosystem by providing encryption for commercially sensitive data.
How Fhenix Utilizes Fully Homomorphic Encryption
Fhenix’s smart contract platform utilizes fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), a cryptographic technique that allows for computation of encrypted data without revealing the underlying information. The goal is to bring data encryption and encrypted data computation to smart contracts, transactions, and on-chain assets in the Ethereum ecosystem. According to Zyskind, there is an increasing demand for data confidentiality, and collaborations between blockchains like Fhenix and Secret are essential for a more secure and privacy-centric future.
FHE enables users to own and control their data while deciding who they share it with. Fhenix’s technology is powered by fhEVM, an extension suite for the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This allows Ethereum developers to incorporate FHE into their projects without extensive knowledge of cryptography, using the familiar Solidity programming language.
Fhenix’s Partnership with Zama
Fhenix’s fhEVM was initially developed by Zama, a cryptography company specializing in open-source encryption solutions for blockchain and AI. Following a strategic partnership, Zama’s technology was integrated into Fhenix Network. Zama CEO Rand Hindi believes that the ability to keep things private on-chain will enable numerous use cases such as blind auctions, on-chain identity attestations, real-world asset tokenization, private voting for DAOs, and more.
Kyle Samani, Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, stated that Fhenix simplifies the challenge of combining FHE with blockchain development. The company makes FHE accessible to Ethereum developers almost instantly.
Hot Take: Fhenix Revolutionizes Data Privacy on the Blockchain
Fhenix’s successful seed funding round and its use of fully homomorphic encryption demonstrate its commitment to revolutionizing data privacy in the blockchain industry. By allowing developers to create encrypted smart contracts without extensive cryptographic knowledge, Fhenix opens up new possibilities for trustless gaming, private voting, and privacy-preserving AI. With collaborations with companies like Zama and Secret Network, Fhenix aims to provide a more secure and privacy-centric future for users. As data confidentiality becomes increasingly important, Fhenix’s technology paves the way for innovative use cases and puts users in control of their own data.