Secret

What is Secret (SCRT)?

Secret is a decentralized network of computers referred to as “secret nodes” that use software- and hardware-based privacy technology to enable secure computation.

Secret melds the features of decentralized, open-source networks and blockchains with the benefits of data privacy and improved usability. The result is a smart contract (“secret contract”) enabled network on which developers can build Secret Apps.

These Secret Apps are unstoppable since they’re on the blockchain and permissionless, thanks to the network’s privacy and decentralization. They can utilize encrypted data without exposing it, even to the network nodes doing the computation.

Who are the Founders of Secret?

Secret was created by the Secret Foundation, a privacy-focused non-profit dedicated to the mass adoption of decentralized technologies.

The Secret Foundation itself was put together in 2017, principally by Chicago-based entrepreneur and MIT alumnus Tor Blair. The Foundation’s directorship also includes Guy Zyskind, whose works have been cited over 1400 times, and Zaki Manian, a former director of Tendermint Labs.

How Does Secret Network Work?

The Secret network utilizes novel key management techniques, encryption schemes, and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology to bring encrypted input, output, and state to the blockchain.

TEEs are special enclaves within a computer that are analogous to a “black box,” allowing computations to occur confidentially within them. They are ubiquitous in modern hardware, as seen, for example, in fingerprint readers used in smartphones.

The decentralized network of computers that run the Secret network can therefore come to a consensus without ever obtaining access to the data they’re processing. Users can instead use “viewing keys” to view their sensitive data or enable third parties to do so.

Meanwhile, Secret Contracts, an implementation of the Rust-based library CosmWasm, enable computation with private metadata. These Secret Contracts can manage user-side encrypted data storage and communication, NFTs with private content and ownership, lending protocols with private collateralization, and applications requiring on-chain randomness.

An additional benefit of this system is that all decentralized applications (dApps) on the Secret network are resistant to MEV attacks due to the encrypted mempool and state of the chain. This protects users from getting front-run on their transactions.

What Makes Secret Unique?

Secret is unique because it doesn’t just focus on transactional privacy like the traditional “privacy coins” such as Monero and Zcash. Instead, Secret focuses on programmable privacy.

The network allows applications to use encrypted inputs, encrypted outputs, and encrypted state. This allows groundbreaking new use cases for smart contracts and dApps beyond simply the ability to make private transactions.

The Secret community views privacy as a human right and a public good and looks to empower individuals via decentralized tech while protecting freedom by eliminating data monopolies.

Furthermore, unlike other protocols that provide programmable privacy, Secret does things a little differently. Secret doesn’t utilize group-oriented anonymous signature schemes, ZK-proofs, Multi-Party Computation, or Homomorphic Encryption. Instead, Secret’s approach relies on encryption and specified hardware.

How is the Secret Network Secured?

The Secret network was developed using the Cosmos SDK and uses Tendermint, a proof-of-stake consensus engine.

This means that Secret relies on the staking of the SCRT coin. Secret nodes bond these coins to produce and validate blocks, and they’re rewarded for doing so with fees and network rewards also paid in SCRT.

However, when they go offline or behave maliciously, they can be “slashed” and lose a portion of their SCRT stake.

Holders of SCRT who do not wish to run a node can also play a part in network security. They can delegate their SCRT to support various validators and are paid a share of that validator’s rewards.

What is the Use of SCRT?

SCRT is the native cryptocurrency of the Secret network. It is used for gas fees on the network, can be staked toward network security, and also in protocol governance.

Users of Secret can wrap SCRT or any bridged token from other ecosystems like Ethereum, BSC, Monero, and Cosmos/IBC into their SNIP-20 equivalent. These are called secret tokens, and users gain immediate privacy since the balance and every interaction with these secret tokens is private by default.

These secret tokens can then be used to trade on the network, participate in DeFi, make private payments, escrow, and even get a credit score while maintaining the user’s financial privacy.

How Much SCRT is In Circulation?

SCRT has a circulating supply of over 163 million coins, with an initial total set at 170 million SCRT. The network has a targeted inflation rate of 15%. However, this could change depending on how much of the circulating SCRT supply is changed.

If below 67% of SCRT is staked, inflation is projected to trend toward 20% to incentivize staking. If more than 67% is staked, inflation reduces to 7%.

76 million SCRT out of the initial 170 million went to the community, while the project treasury was assigned 30 million and the Secret Foundation 1 million coins. In contrast, the team was given 36 million SCRT vested between 2 and 4 years.

How Do You Buy SCRT?

You can buy SCRT from various exchange platforms, including a handful of top-tier exchanges. It’s also possible to buy SCRT from Cosmos or IBC-based decentralized exchanges, including Osmosis.

How Do You Store SCRT?

You can store SCRT in a variety of compatible wallets, depending on your preferences. One of the community’s favorites is Keplr, an interchain wallet for the Cosmos ecosystem, which integrates with all apps and tools on Secret.

Is SCRT a Good Investment?

SCRT is a project that goes above and beyond what most other privacy-focused blockchains do, and for that alone, it garners significant interest and popularity in the community.

However, privacy, especially when made available to the public, seems to be taboo as far as the powers that be are concerned and is increasingly appearing on the regulatory radar.

As such, Secret may have more and more value as layers of privacy are increasingly stripped away by powerful authorities and the data-hungry corporations that lobby them.