- The new tool is called Privacy Pools and runs on Ethereum
- Users opt out of anonymity protocols, which contain an address linked to stolen funds
Ameen Soleimani, a former developer of Tornado Cash, is working on a new crypto mixing tool with the purpose of solving a major flaw of the existing one.
He hopes the new mixer will change United States authorities’ mind about privacy mixers, CoinTelegraph reported.
The new tool is called Privacy Pools. It runs on Ethereum and its code became available on GitHub on March 5. Privacy Pools is already live on Optimism.
Solving a critical flaw of Tornado
In a rather lengthy Twitter thread, Soleimani explained Tornado’s “critical flaw:” users were unable to provide evidence they weren’t connected to a criminal enterprise, such as North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Users of the new tool can opt out of anonymity protocols
Privacy Pools does away with this issue. Its users can opt out of a set of anonymity protocols, which contain an address linked to laundered or stolen funds.
The user’s privacy is preserved as the feature is implemented via zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. Soleimani tweeted:
Now, users have the option to help regulators isolate illicit funds, without revealing their entire transaction history. With privacy pools, just because someone deposits into the same smart contract as you, it doesn’t mean they can also force you into sharing an anonymity set with them. It’s your choice.
Empowering the community against hackers
Soleimani hopes his privacy mixer will help motivate the crypto community, empowering it to protect itself and its funds from cybercriminals misusing honest users’ anonymity sets. This should happen without sacrificing ideals, on which the crypto community is based, or needing stifling blanket regulation.
The developer added that the tool’s first version is still in its experimental phase because he hasn’t completed the code. It has not been audited either, but he is very close to “having it ready.”
