Iron Fish

Established in 2018 by Elena Nadolinski, a former software engineer at Microsoft and Airbnb, Iron Fish is a cryptocurrency focused on privacy and accessibility. The Iron Fish roadmap begins with the proof-of-work blockchain with native cryptocurrency with plans to include extra assets, stablecoins and cross-chain bridges, and layer 2 support. The company is launching an incentivized testnet to reward member participation with leadership points that lead to future mainnet Iron Fish coins.

The name, Iron Fish, is culled from the US Navajo Code Talkers, who in World War II utilized it as a codename for a submarine. It is an allusion to the power of cryptography to protect and defend. Iron Fish uses zk-SNARKs, a kind of zero-knowledge proof. A zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is a cryptographic method utilized in proving and verifying a statement without revealing the underlying data. zk-SNARKs protect Iron Fish users’ balances and user identities. According to CEO Elena Nadolinski, in an email to Coindesk,

“Iron Fish is a new privacy-focused cryptocurrency where every transaction is private, using the strongest privacy mechanism known today based on zero-knowledge proofs. As we continue to add features, Iron Fish will become a shielded layer for many assets, even ones on different chains, and provide a platform for true digital cash (via fully private stablecoins). In Iron Fish, zero-knowledge proofs allow you to make a transaction without revealing your balance, or the recipient, or even who you are — instead, there’s a cryptographic proof accompanying an encrypted transaction that simply proves you have enough funds to cover it.”

Iron Fish also utilizes the Sapling protocol, created by Zcash, for constructing and verifying shielded transactions in the context of a blockchain. These “view keys” grant the holder read-only access to every activity associated with that specific account. Iron Fish supports encrypted memo fields, facilitating compliance with the FATF rule (Travel Rule) for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) by letting them keep a record of information for the reason behind transfers.

“We're bringing the same expectations around financial privacy that you have in the analogous world to crypto,” Nadolinksi stated. “Regulatory concern with privacy coins arises from the myth that law enforcement won't be able to catch bad actors. But just like in the real world when law enforcement would go acquire records when a suspicion of a crime occurs (e.g. acquire bank records for an organization or individual), so can law enforcement go to an exchange or other crypto-issuing body and acquire ‘view keys’ for an account (which Iron FIsh supports).”

Iron Fish has a variety of features:

• Privacy: The Layer 1 blockchain leverages zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) for encryption to give users control over who sees transaction details through account view keys or transaction decryption keys. The company is building Iron Fish to be an SSL layer for blockchains.

• Usability: Iron Fish was created to be intuitive for developers and users. The company is building a set of tools for users to run and transact $IRON on different platforms.

• Decentralized: Iron Fish is a proof-of-work (PoW) chain available to users to create wallets, run their own node, and mine $IRON.

• Regulatory compliance: Iron Fish accounts come with a set of view keys allowing an exchange or financial organization to see an audit of the accounts they manage and comply with AML obligations.