Miden Protocol Breaks Free: $20M Funding Round Cements Independence

Zero-knowledge upstart escapes venture capital puppet strings with oversubscribed Series A—just as ETH L2 mania peaks. Smart timing or desperate land grab? You decide.

The self-custody stack now has warchest to challenge Polygon’s zk-rollup dominance. Watch for devs jumping ship when the next ’modular blockchain’ buzzword drops.

Bonus jab: VCs finally found something to fund that isn’t another AI wrapper. Progress.

Investment and Technological Strengthening

Leading the investment round were a16z crypto, 1kx, and Hack VC, with participation from Finality Capital Partners, Symbolic Capital, P2 Ventures, Delta Fund, and MH Ventures. This financial package is intended to strengthen Miden’s technological infrastructure for its future strategic moves.

Using zero-knowledge technology, Miden is designed to help institutions maintain privacy during substantial payment transactions. The protocol allows for choosing between conducting public or private transactions for significant payments.

Azeem Khan, (Co-Founder of Miden) “Large corporations like Apple need transaction privacy when paying suppliers. Institutions are seeking a privacy solution that is compliant with regulations and offers high performance.”

Bobbin Threadbare, (Co-Founder of Miden) “Technically, we have a structure quite different from other blockchains. This structure doesn’t seem applicable on platforms like Ethereum$1,806 or Solana$147.”

Miden and Its Relationship with Polygon

Miden was developed under the incubation program within Polygon in 2021. However, with Polygon’s strategic shift, Miden has focused on a different scaling solution. The total value locked in Polygon networks has decreased from approximately $4.4 billion during Miden’s announcement to $864 million today.

Sandeep Nailwal, (Founder of Polygon Labs) “Miden represents the future of blockchain technologies. This structure provides a blueprint for the ultimate form of blockchain.”

The mainnet of the protocol is expected to become operational by the end of the year. Miden’s solution-driven structure for large institutions’ privacy needs and its performance focus are closely monitored by the industry. The developed infrastructure aims to create more reliable and flexible transaction environments.