zAccounts
zAccounts function as private ledgers for users
zAccounts belong to a Zone managed by a Zone Manager
zAccounts don't hold PII (Personally Identifiable Information) such as name, dob, etc.
The zAccount is the end user's entrypoint to a Zone, and thereby to a Shielded Pool. A zAccount associates a user's EOA (Externally Owned Account, i.e. a wallet) with their KYC attestation, as required by the Zone Manager.
The core functionality of the zAccount is to allow users to safely deposit assets to transact with. Additionally, it lets users prove their balance in a private setup or withdraw their assets back to a publicly owned wallet.
The Protocol is designed to allow the Zone Manager to define compliance and the compliance attestation that is required to validate a zAccount. This enables Zone Managers to allow decentralized identities, and assign third-party KYC providers. Users can establish a zero-knowledge zAccount following successful verification.
The Protocol can verify the completion and nature of the user's verification without holding any sensitive personal data — while empowering the end user with tailored information sharing. It employs advanced zero-knowledge methods to ensure the confidentiality and control of users' transactional data on the blockchain.
To simplify compliance, each end user's activities are consolidated under a singular ledger, or zAccount.
zAccounts are crafted using a specific type of unspent transaction output (UTXO) within the Merkle Tree structure of UTXOs. Each zAccount UTXO encapsulates critical user-specific details, including the zAccount's unique identifier, balances in ZKP and PRP, Zone-ID, and more.
The Shielded Pool assigns every zAsset, represented by a UTXO commitment, to an “owner” — the only zAccount able to spend it. This is achieved by including a public (spending) key in generating the UTXO commitment, for which only the zAsset recipient knows the corresponding private (spending) key.
However, rather than using a single fully-public spending key for each recipient, known to the whole world, a new spending keypair is derived. This pair is guaranteed to be unique for each UTXO and strengthens the system’s privacy while offering greater flexibility to disclosure schemes.
Using the babyJubJub curve, each zAccount account generates:
A read public/private keypair: ReadPubKey, ReadPrivKey.
A Keypair for stealth address generation: SpendPubKey, SpendPrivKey.
All users then register ReadPubKey, SpendPubKey with a registry available to other users in that Pool.
Deep dive into Panther Protocol's UTXO model
Status | Entrypoint |
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In development on testnet
Working with cryptoassets in Panther Protocol
Panther Protocol will allow users that comply with their Zone Manager's compliance requirements to open a zAccount to non-interactively:
stake, and
with zAssets in the Shielded Pool.
Zero-Knowledge Assets
zAssets represent digital assets as UTXOs
ZK proof of UTXO activity are written on-chain
This mechanism enables privacy-enhanced trading
zAssets are 1:1 representations of digital assets deposited by users into Shielded Pools. It is the zAsset that confers much of the Protocol's privacy-enhancing features.
When users deposit their assets into a Panther Shielded Pool, they essentially convert their regular tokens or assets into zAssets, to be managed within Panther’s zero-knowledge layer.
When a user deposits a digital asset into the Panther Vault via their Panther account, a UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) is generated to represent that asset — the zAsset.
The Protocol uses ZK-SNARK (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) proofs to store UTXO data on-chain. This allows a user’s on-chain state to be stored privately and to ensure private state changes.
This means that the zAsset data that represents the original digital asset on-chain is both condensed and encrypted. Asset balances and balance changes are not publicly available should a Panther account address become known to an observer.
Users can withdraw their zAssets back into their original form whenever needed. When they do so, the UTXO that represented the underlying asset is "spent".
zAssets are fully collateralized by the underlying tokens that users deposit through UTXO ownership. The ownership of those zAssets can be transferred through in-pool UTXO transactions, which represent the ability to convert zAssets back into native assets on the Pool’s underlying blockchain network.
The observable data that results from a trade is that a UTXO was committed to the smart contract. Only the owner of the UTXO can decrypt the ZK-proof and ascertain the value and token that the UTXO represents.
Panther's Shielded Pools support the following asset classes:
ERC-20 (including some variants like ERC-404)
ERC-721
ERC-1155
Which assets may be deposited are determined by the Zone Manager.
This allows different Zones to support different asset sets, which will enable Zone Managers to determine what assets they support according to risk profiles, state laws, and other considerations.
The Panther DAO can propose assets for allowlisting at any time since allowlisting an asset requires a manual configuration. For the Protocol’s first release, Panther will probably launch supporting the following assets:
Stablecoins
USDC
USDT
DAI
Other tokens
wETH
wBTC
MATIC
CRV
LINK
These tokens represent the largest DEX flow on Polygon and, as such, can aid Panther’s goal of bootstrapping its privacy through user activity. Further integrations can then be leveraged as activations on their own and help the Protocol’s organic growth by engaging the communities associated with them.
zAccounts are represented by UTXOs, so it's worth taking time to understand our unique UTXO model.
Status | Entrypoint |
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In development on testnet
Shielded Pool
The Shielded Pool supports the non-interactive trades of zAssets: shielding external wallet addresses
Panther Shielded Pools may be deployed to different L1 or L2 chains
Access to a Shielded Pool is granted via a zAccount created via the dApp within a dedicated Zone
Panther Protocol's Shielded Pools underpin the Protocol's vision for compliant, privacy-enhanced trading. Shielded Pools are partitioned into Zones: logical partitions of liquidity with their own entry requirements.
A Shielded Pool supports multiple asset types, i.e. is a Multi Asset Shielded Pool (MASP). Each Pool supports the non-interactive transfer of zAssets within Zones. This non-interactive architecture is fundamental to enabling two parties to transact without knowing or revealing each other's EOA (externally owned account) addresses, i.e. their wallet addresses. This renders the transactions within these pools untraceable while providing users with the flexibility to disclose information selectively, thus enabling a pathway to compliance.
Users within Zones can:
Register and activate Panther zAccounts and zero-knowledge compliance checks
Deposit and withdraw assets
Transact and send funds to other zAccount holders within the Pool
Receive rewards and pay fees
Interact with DeFi dApps and protocols
Conduct OTC-like atomic swap trades
Access cross-chain functionalities
Earn Panther $ZKP rewards
Panther Zones are dedicated areas within Shielded Pools that enable users to trade with allowlisted assets and known counterparties. Every Zone is managed and configured by a licensed entity known as a Zone Manager, and users must undergo verification with a KYC provider.
Each Zone in a Shielded Pool supports compliance in a fully agnostic manner, i.e. compliance is defined by the VASP-licensed Zone Manager.
The following diagram highlights how a Shielded Pool allows an end user, the zAccount holder of Zone A in this instance, to transact in this privacy-enhanced Protocol.
Notice that the same Pool can support multiple Zones, here as Zone A and Zone B. This allows Zones A and Zone B to have different daily limits, different supported assets, and different requirements for entry, such as different supported geographical regions for end user residence.
Furthermore, while the KYC compliance provider submitting the attestation that the EOA, e.g. MetaMask wallet, is associated with an individual that has successfully complied with the Zone Manager's ruleset is the same for Zones A and B in this simplified representation, in fact, Zone Managers may undertake their own KYC or select alternative third-party KYC providers. The Protocol itself simply requires the attestation, it does not have insight into who is making that KYC attestation.
While the mainnet beta release of Panther Protocol is deployed to Polygon, the Protocol itself supports a multi-chain strategy.
Deploying Shielded Pools onto multiple blockchains is a key milestone for Panther is to deploy — further strengthening the ecosystem and diversifying access to DeFi. This vision, which puts users in control of who views their data while retaining compliance, constitutes a first-of-its-kind approach that leverages existing liquidity, increases connectivity, and is attractive to institutions and retail users alike.
A Shielded Pool is a set of smart contracts where users can deposit various tokens, safeguarded by cutting-edge cryptographic techniques such as SNARKs and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs).
On-chain state changes are achieved when Panther's Shielded Pools update a collection of append-only Merkle trees, where each leaf is a commitment to a UTXO representing zAssets — essentially an IOU for the corresponding collateral deposited by a user and locked in the Panther Vault, or zAccounts.
Learn more about non-interactive asset transfer
Find out more about which asset classes are supported
Follow external links from the glossary to learn more
zTrade (OTC Trading)
Panther will support privacy-enhanced Over-The-Counter trades
Within zTrade, users can conduct OTC transactions while enjoying unprecedented data privacy. The process begins when a maker deposits digital assets into a Shielded Pooland converts them into zAssets, effectively safeguarding their holdings. Once users initiate a trade, they set the conversion rate at which they are willing to sell their assets. Takers, conversely, can browse the available offers and accept the one that suits their needs, confident that their privacy is being fully maintained.
Unlike traditional OTC marketplaces, zTrade will not require any custodian services, thanks to the self-custody and automated nature of on-chain DeFi transactions. Furthermore, zTrade preserves the confidentiality of users' identities, transaction details, and asset holdings.
Some of the advantages of zTrade over centralized or decentralized swap mechanisms include:
Low fees
Instant settlements with data protection
Possibly, earning rewards
to be determined by the DAO
Status | Entrypoint |
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Status | Entrypoint |
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zTrade will be the world's first on-chain Over-The-Counter (OTC) marketplace.
Using the Polygon network (at ), zTrade offers an innovative approach to OTC trading by connecting makers and takers in a fully privacy-enhanced, secure environment. It leverages the attributes of the and to enable OTC trades.
Zero on large trades
In development on testnet
Concept |