Namada, the blockchain platform prioritizing privacy, is aiming to strengthen its relationship with the Osmosis protocol. To achieve this, they plan to collaborate in funding software “public goods” and distributing their upcoming NAM token to OSMO investors through an airdrop.
Christopher Goes, the co-founder of Namada, expressed that their grants program will focus on supporting various research and development initiatives centered around privacy within the Cosmos-based Osmosis and Namada ecosystems, with Namada being a project that is yet to be launched.
While Namada is prepared to finance the endeavor, Christopher Goes expressed his optimism that Osmosis would also contribute to the initiative. Additionally, Namada aims to implement its approach to safeguarding asset privacy on the Osmosis platform. Goes referred to these measures as “shielded actions,” which would effectively conceal assets on Namada when they are not actively involved in trades on Osmosis.
Offering a Flexible Experience to Users
In his explanation, Christopher Goes emphasized the importance of having assets that serve a purpose beyond mere possession. The Namada team anticipates that individuals would be interested in utilizing Osmosis and decentralized exchanges on various chains to actively trade their assets, as this adds excitement and utility.
To facilitate this, Namada’s nonprofit organization, the Anoma Foundation, based in Switzerland, plans to allocate a portion of Namada’s staking token NAM for airdrops to OSMO holders. It is worth noting that the snapshot has not yet taken place, and the distribution is expected to occur subsequent to the launch of Namada.
The precise timelines and quantities are still subject to change, primarily due to the pending input from the Osmosis community. Christopher Goes mentioned that he values the community’s feedback and seeks their consent to proceed with the proposal, which will be subject to an OSMO governance vote. It is worth noting that Namada previously presented a comparable partnership proposal to Zcash in April, which also entailed an airdrop.
Realizing a Multi-Chain Vision
Namada serves as an L1 blockchain based on the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, enabling privacy for interchain assets without favoring any specific asset. Through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, Namada seamlessly interoperates with fast-finality chains, while also establishing a trustless two-way bridge with Ethereum.
To ensure privacy, Namada employs an enhanced version of the multi-asset shielded pool (MASP) circuit. This upgraded circuit enables all types of assets, both fungible and non-fungible, to share a unified shielded set. Consequently, the act of transferring assets becomes indistinguishable from transferring popular tokens like ETH, DAI, ATOM, OSMO, NAM (Namada’s native asset), or any other asset present on the Namada platform.
The recent update to the MASP circuit introduces a groundbreaking feature called “shielded set rewards,” which serves as a unique mechanism to support privacy as a public good. The Namada protocol’s reference implementation is developed in Rust by Heliax, one of the prominent organizations involved in the Anoma ecosystem. Namada represents the initial implementation of Anoma’s fractal instance and serves as a crucial milestone toward realizing a multi-chain vision characterized by a homogeneous architecture and heterogeneous security.
