Vitalik Buterin transferred $300,000 to privacy protocol Railgun (again)

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin continued to use the privacy protocol Railgun, trading 80 ETH (about $300,000) today.

Buterin has been working on this service for several months, typically using a small amount of on-chain data aggregated into Arkham Intelligence data shows.

Buterin previously supported its use by transferring 100 ETH ($300,000 at the time) through Railgun last April. “Railgun uses a privacy-preserving pool protocol, making it much more difficult for malicious actors to join pools without compromising users’ privacy,” he said.

Railgun is a privacy protocol that uses ZK SNARK, a zero-knowledge proof technology. This allows users to hide their wallet addresses while transacting on the public ledger blockchain. Despite being a privacy platform, it is often incorrectly labeled as a hybrid service like approved Tornado Cash.

Buterin also added that Railgun posts the phrase “Privacy Is Normal” on X along with transaction details, preventing malicious actors from joining the public pool, unlike Tornado.

Nonetheless, the Railgun was not immune to misuse. For example, in January 2023, $63.5 million in ether stolen from Horizon Bridge by suspected North Korean hackers was transferred to Railgun, ZachXBT reported. In April, Railgun refuted claims that it had been used by North Korean hackers after reports emerged that the hacking group Lazarus may have used it.

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