=nil; Foundation raises $22M to build zk-proofs marketplace

=nil; Foundation has raised $22 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital.
The firm will use funds to build a zero-knowledge proofs marketplace for Ethereum and L2s.
Apart from improving security and scalability, blockchains using =nil;’s Proof Market will not need centralised intermediaries

 =nil; Foundation, the zero-knowledge proofs research and development platform looking to build a proofs marketplace for Ethereum and L2s, has secured $22 million in a funding round that valued the firm at $220 million.

Polychain Capital led the funding round, with participation from top blockchain-focused venture firms including Blockchain Capital, Starkware, and Mina Protocol. The investment also attracted several angel investors, including Hasu.

A Proof Market for Ethereum and other public blockchains

The nil; Foundation, launched in 2018, will use the funds from the fundraise to boost the development of its zero-knowledge (ZK) Proof Market protocol, according to details shared via a press release on Thursday. Per the company, the funding will go into building solutions aimed at improving the security and scalability of Ethereum, other L1 blockchains and L2s.

A Proof Market will help provide industry players with a trustless and seamless protocol for sharing zk-proofs without having to rely on centralised intermediaries, the nil; Foundation noted in the announcement.

“Proof Market is now ready to ensure secure data transfer between Ethereum and public protocols, but that’s not the only thing that our team is aiming at,” Konstantin Lomashuk, co-founder of =nil; Foundation, said in a statement obtained by CoinJournal. He added:

“As the ecosystem grows, computations are getting heavier and more complex, thus posing a roadblock for effective and trustless interaction between Ethereum, L2s and other protocols. Creating a marketplace for computational powers that can prove any information will open new opportunities for the whole market, keeping it aligned with core blockchain principles,”

According to the nil; Foundation team, the market already has state proofs for Solana and Mina, while the same should be available on more blockchains soon. Industry players can now use the generated proofs to secure data exchange across Ethereum.

But a fully-fledged Proof Market will work as a zk-proof marketplace, allowing for further accessibility to proofs as blockchains eye more security and scalability.