<p class="text-node">This is an RFP to build a NEAR native mixer using zero-knowledge proofs. We're looking for a team that can turn this into more than just a public good—one that can go to market, build a startup, and scale adoption, which is critical to any privacy project.</p><h1 class="heading-node">Objectives</h1><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Launch a native mixer on NEAR in less than 2 months</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Build a dedicated team that can continue to iterate and work with NEAR Intents</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Drive adoption across wallets and usage</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Build sustainability around the project by raising external capital, going straight to revenue, or launching a token on a launchpad like <a class="link" href="http://Calyx.xyz">Calyx.xyz</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Rally ecosystem sentiment around privacy adoption and development</p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Community Interest</h1><p class="text-node">This initiative is supported by community demand demonstrated through Twitter engagement and will be funded through this POTLOCK campaign.</p><p class="text-node">(Donate to support the fund, which is sent to a multisig with Infrastructure Committee members who will be rewarded based on submission): <a class="link" href="https://app.potlock.org/campaign/91">https://app.potlock.org/campaign/91</a>.</p><h2 class="heading-node">Use Cases</h2><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node"><strong>Private Payments</strong>: Users can conduct private transactions or tipping without exposing their financial history, preventing dust tracking and potential security issues while encouraging smaller payments</p></li><li><p class="text-node"><strong>Institutional Adoption</strong>: Institutions may adopt this solution to abstract payments and maintain confidentiality in financial dealings</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Especially useful for onboarding to trade and DeFi, and to obfuscate whale wallets</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Cross-chain transfers</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Savings apps and yield</p></li></ul><h2 class="heading-node">Target Users</h2><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Privacy-centric apps</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Institutions seeking payment abstraction</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Wallets and consumers who want to abstract their balances for microtransactions</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Privacy-focused users</p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Requirements</h1><p class="text-node">Must be MIT Open Source license for both frontend and circuits. You are to create NEAR contracts to facilitate pools, circuits, relayers, and subgraphs to index.</p><h2 class="heading-node">High-Level Architecture</h2><p class="text-node">The architecture will include:</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node"><strong>NEAR Pools</strong>: Users deposit NEAR / NEP 141 Tokens into a shared pool on NEAR leveraging NEAR Smart Contract</p></li><li><p class="text-node"><strong>Ticket System</strong>: A ticketing mechanism will allow users to withdraw funds while abstracting the complexity of gas fees and transaction details</p></li><li><p class="text-node"><strong>ZKP Integration</strong>: Using zero-knowledge proofs will ensure that transaction details remain confidential while allowing for compliance with regulatory standards</p></li></ul><p class="text-node">Nice to have: Multichain Deposits and Withdrawals—use NEAR Intents to deposit on any chain, settle on NEAR, and use tickets to withdraw NEAR assets and swap into any asset</p><h3 class="heading-node">Smart Contracts</h3><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">NEAR Smart Contracts that</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Hold user deposits (NEAR or NEP-141 tokens) at fixed denominations.</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Verify proofs to release funds, manage nullifiers to prevent double spend</p></li></ul><h2 class="heading-node">Front End Design</h2><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Pool</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Show pools</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Ability to deposit via NEAR Intents</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Connect with NEAR Wallet</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Load-generating tickets and encrypting mass tickets for bulk usage</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Show transaction history (optional feature since transactions are visible on-chain)</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Number of unique wallets</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Total daily volume</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Current pool amount and current anonymity set</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Easily able to create multiple tickets seimtenly</p></li></ul></li><li><p class="text-node">FAQ</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Tips for enhanced anonymity</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Call to action</p></li><li><p class="text-node">How it works</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Developer corner</p></li></ul></li><li><p class="text-node">How to deploy your own front end</p></li></ul></li><li><p class="text-node">Deposit functionality</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Balance check display</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Connected chain indicator</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Loading state for ticket generation</p></li></ul></li><li><p class="text-node">UI tips</p><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Longer waiting periods increase anonymity—displays odds based on transaction inflow</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Avoid withdrawing exact deposit amounts; use different withdrawal amounts</p></li></ul></li></ul><h2 class="heading-node">Tooling</h2><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">CLI tools to easily create many tickets and autome ticket creation and claims.</p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Potential Implementation</h1><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Chain Signature-enabled pools using privacy coins, NEAR, or stablecoins (potential centralization risk with stablecoins)</p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Types of Mixers</h1><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Tornado Cash-style mixer, i.e., Hide Your Cash</p></li></ul><h2 class="heading-node">Limitations</h2><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">ZK proofs require several seconds to process</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Need distribution mechanism for viral payment apps</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Require concurrent proofs for dollar pools to scale volume</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Support for batched proofs to scale dollar amounts</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Large batches may affect withdrawal privacy—consider ticket splitting and rehashing based on withdrawal amounts. Question of cross-asset withdrawals remains</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Cross-chain gas fee management</p></li><li><p class="text-node">USDC's CCTP protocol and stablecoin-based multichain pools present centralization risks through potential token freezing</p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Resources</h1><h3 class="heading-node">Core Resources</h3><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Original Source Code for HideYourCash: <a class="link" href="https://github.com/opact-protocol/tickets">https://github.com/opact-protocol/tickets</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Original Video Workshop of HideYourCash: <a class="link" href="https://x.com/plugrel/status/1987857907074138154">https://x.com/plugrel/status/1987857907074138154</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">NEP 141 <a class="link" href="https://github.com/near/NEPs/blob/master/neps/nep-0141.md">https://github.com/near/NEPs/blob/master/neps/nep-0141.md</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">NEAR Intents: <a class="link" href="http://docs.near-intents.org">docs.near-intents.org</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">ZCash Ephemeral Address mentioned in ECC Q4 2025 Roadmap: <a class="link" href="https://electriccoin.co/blog/ecc-roadmap-q4-2025/">https://electriccoin.co/blog/ecc-roadmap-q4-2025/</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">ZCash Pools: <a class="link" href="https://zechub.wiki/using-zcash/shielded-pools">https://zechub.wiki/using-zcash/shielded-pools</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">How Tornado Cash Works: <a class="link" href="https://info.arkm.com/research/understanding-tornado-cash">https://info.arkm.com/research/understanding-tornado-cash</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Coinmixing vs Coinjoins: <a class="link" href="https://www.binance.com/en/academy/articles/coin-mixing-and-coinjoins-explained">https://www.binance.com/en/academy/articles/coin-mixing-and-coinjoins-explained</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Privacy Pools: <a class="link" href="http://Privacypools.com">Privacypools.com</a> | <a class="link" href="https://x.com/0xbowio/status/1906784481496719749">https://x.com/0xbowio/status/1906784481496719749</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Tornado Cash Github: <a class="link" href="https://github.com/tornadocash">https://github.com/tornadocash</a> | <a class="link" href="https://docs.privacypools.com/">https://docs.privacypools.com/</a></p></li></ul><h3 class="heading-node">Other Inspiration</h3><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">PrivacyCash on Solana: <a class="link" href="https://github.com/Privacy-Cash/privacy-cash">https://github.com/Privacy-Cash/privacy-cash</a> | <a class="link" href="http://privacycash.org">privacycash.org</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Umbra (not live but nice product): <a class="link" href="https://docs.umbraprivacy.com/docs/introduction">https://docs.umbraprivacy.com/docs/introduction</a></p></li><li><p class="text-node">Houdini Swap: <a class="link" href="https://houdiniswap.com/">https://houdiniswap.com/</a></p></li></ul><h1 class="heading-node">Notes</h1><p class="text-node">The last mixer failed not because of technical difficulty but because of lack of traction and care for privacy. This new privacy renaissance aims to change that. Beyond the technical feat and product velocity, the ability to go to market and get this built into mainstream applications is key—with superior UX and a consistently high anonymity set.</p><h1 class="heading-node">Experience</h1><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Prior experience with zero-knowledge proofs</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Prior experience with payments and go-to-market strategies</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Rust and NEAR smart contract experience</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Ability to ship fast with strong product velocity and product-oriented experience</p></li></ul><p class="text-node">We will evaluate not only technical ability but also the ability to launch as a product</p><h1 class="heading-node">Future Ideas</h1><ul class="list-node tight" data-tight="true"><li><p class="text-node">Building multichain pools natively with chain signatures</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Optimize proof speeds &amp; crcuit otpimzation</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Build on decentralized front ends</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Easily build in transfers that both deposit, take ticket, and withdraw to a specific address with a variable to feel more like private transfers than tickets and deposits</p></li><li><p class="text-node">Token based governance for whitelisting</p></li></ul>

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NEAR Privacy Mixer