Nebra, an English cryptocurrency startup, has successfully raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by Nascent and Bankless. The company is focused on research and development of strategies for enhancing privacy and scaling blockchain technology using zero-knowledge proofs. Notable angel investors such as Tim Beiko, Kartik Talwar, Nick White, Sandy Peng, and Haichen Shen also provided support.
Nebra has been selected to participate in the a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator as part of the CSX Spring 2024 cohort in London. The newly raised funds will be used to advance zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology on the Shared Settlement Layer (SSL) of the internet, with the goal of reducing the high cost of proof settlement on Ethereum and other blockchains.
Zero-knowledge proofs offer the potential for on-chain privacy, which is crucial for scalability in blockchain technology. However, these technologies can be expensive, with users in the Ethereum ecosystem collectively paying over $50 million in gas fees during a stress test in 2023. UPA, a tool developed by Nebra, demonstrated remarkable resilience during this test by processing 1 million proofs within 36 hours.
Dan Elitzer, co-founder of Nebra, compares the company’s mission to the revolutionary impact of Google and Uber in their respective sectors. He envisions Nebra as a pioneering platform that brings economy of scale to blockchain ZKP settlements, offering cost-effective and efficient solutions for users across the blockchain ecosystem.
In summary, Nebra’s successful funding round will help it further develop its ZKP technology and provide cost-effective solutions for on-chain privacy in blockchain networks.