DeFi privacy project Panther raises $22M in 1.5-hour public sale

Panther Protocol, a privacy-enhancing technology provider for the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, has completed its public sale to continue building privacy solutions for DeFi and Web3.

Panter announced to Cointelegraph on Nov. 25 that it raised $22 million in its recent public sale of ZKP tokens, bringing the total amount raised to $32 million.

Starting on Nov. 23, the Panther Protocol public sale successfully closed in just under 90 minutes, the Panther project previously announced.

Launched in Q3 2020, the Panther Protocol is built using zk-SNARKs, a new form of zero-knowledge cryptography implemented for popular privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Zcash (ZEC). The acronym “zk-SNARK” stands for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge,” referring to a situation where one can prove possession of certain information without revealing that information.

Building on multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, Flare, Near and Avalanche, Panther is developing an interoperable privacy layer for DeFi and Web3. The protocol uses zAssets, 1:1 backed representations of the underlying assets offering users benefits of private transactions in the new asset type.

As previously announced by Panther, the protocol’s public sale involvea 5% of the total ZKP supply with “varying unlocking schedules.” 15% of the total supply was sold via pre-seed, seed and three subsequent private sale rounds. According to Panther, the protocol has raised $10 million through private funding.

Some of the supposed investors that were willing to participate in Panther’s $22 million public sale have complained about not being able to proceed with payment.

“Shocking support on the Discord, was on the site for 90 minutes and wouldn’t let me make a single payment because the buttons didn’t work, then no response for an hour from anybody in the discord,” one supposed investor reported.

The Panther project did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Related: Polkadot-based privacy project Manta Network raises $5.5M

Amid a major rally on wider cryptocurrency markets, the DeFi industry has continued booming this year, with the total value locked across all DeFi protocols hitting a new record high above $270 billion in early November.

In line with DeFi’s growing popularity, industry projects have been increasingly working on privacy solutions. According to Paolo Guida, head of investments for Blockchain Valley Ventures, privacy is the biggest challenge preventing DeFi lift-off.

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