Secret Network, a blockchain with privacy-preserving smart contacts, today has unveiled the testnet launch of Shinobi, its new protocol for bridging Bitcoin and Secret Network. Shinobi is a direct bridge between Bitcoin and Secret Network, soon Secret Bitcoin (sBTC) will unlock privacy and Secret DeFi for Bitcoin.
Shinobi Protocol is a trustless, bidirectional bridge that connects Bitcoin mainnet users directly to Secret Network. With a hash verification system, Shinobi Protocol avoids the traditional direct custodial model by instead being a privacy-secured trustless bridge.
With the advent of the Shinobi Protocol, it is now possible for Bitcoin holders to have direct access to Secret DeFi in a way never possible before. With Shinobi there is no middleman, and the peg in/out actions communicating with Secret Network are not discernible from ordinary transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Shinobi Protocol joins the list of Secret Bridges on testnet.
Secret Bridges are bringing programmable privacy to assets from other ecosystems, allowing them to enter Secret Network as privacy-preserving “Secret tokens.” Secret tokens are a powerful concept – they’re programmable like ERC-20s and usable in applications, but they remain private by default like Monero and similar coins. Interactions with Secret token contracts are encrypted, viewable only to address owners or holders of their viewing key.
The eventual launch of Shinobi Protocol on mainnet will allow Bitcoin to flow to and from Secret Network. Since Bitcoin is transparent by default and not fundamentally integrated into a smart contract platform, the biggest immediate benefit for Bitcoin users with the Shinobi Protocol bridge is that they can gain accessibility to a privacy-preserving version of bitcoin as well as Secret DeFi applications.
Further, Secret DeFi includes unique applications like SecretSwap, the first front-running resistant, cross-chain, and privacy-first AMM.
Shinobi Protocol is the fourth Secret Bridge currently on testnet, joining the Cosmos, Terra, and Polkadot bridges. As more bridges get added to mainnet, Secret DeFi users will have a wider array of Secret tokens to interact with.
Token
One key to Shinobi Protocol is the introduction of the SHINOBI token, which is the sustainability model for encouraging hash verification of cross-chain transactions between Bitcoin and Secret Network. The more a validator or user confirms these transactions, the more SHINOBI token they will earn. A small amount of SHINOBI token is required to unlock the originally locked BTC in return for SBTC – thus creating the sustainability and value model for Shinobi Protocol and the development team.
For further information check out the Shinobi Whitepaper.
