Privacy-oriented infrastructure provider 0xbow has launched Privacy Pools, a new blockchain tool with which users can protect their transaction history while they try to follow the law.
On a post of March 31 on X, 0xbow announced the Mavet launch, which states that users Ethereum (ETH) users can now reach privacy and avoid illegal funds. Privacypools use zero knowledge certificates to enable private ERC-20 token transfers.
gm Ethereum ☀️
It is our great honor to announce the mainnet launch of Privacy Pools!
ETH users can now achieve on-chain privacy, while still dissociating from illicit funds
It is now up to all of us to Make Privacy Normal Again 🫡
More info in this thread 👇 pic.twitter.com/3nJO0AxoD1
— 0xbow.io (@0xbowio) March 31, 2025
In contrast to earlier privacy mixers, these deposits of this tool to prevent stolen or illegal funds from entering the system. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is one of the co-authors of the first research paper of the Privacy Pools and has publicly supported the project. After the Mainnet launch, Buterin was one of the first to hit Eth in the pool.
The system works via “Association sets”, which batch transactions while verifying that they are not linked to hackers, scammers or other bad actors. If a down payment is marked later, it can be removed without affecting others in the swimming pool.
If the down payment of a user is not successful by the screening process, they can withdraw their money to their original wallet via a “craze quit” function, making privacy pools a non -custody solution. According to 0xbow, PrivacyPools had already processed more than 21 ETH of 69 deposits. The initial deposit hood is set at 1 ETH. However, the further the system is tested, the cap will be increased.
In recent years, privacy tools have had to deal with regulatory pressure due to concerns about illegal use. A major obstacle has offered a balance between the privacy of users and legal compliance. Various countries have taken action to limit the use of privacy points such as Monero and Zcash because of their growing use in criminal activities.
In the most famous case, Tornado-Contant was punished by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the American Treasury for alleged facilitation of illegal transactions. However, an US Court of Appeal ruled in November 2024 that the sanctions were illegal and reversed them.
According to the court’s decision, the unchanging smart contracts of Tornado Cash are not eligible as “ownership” that can be confiscated, and the fines were unfairly imposed on a decentralized protocol. Whether the new strategy of 0xbow will comply with the global legal requirements is still unknown.
