AMA: October 7, 2024
Table of Contents:
Panther Ventures Limited (PVL) hosted an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on October 7th, 2024. The event provided the Panther community with key updates on the protocol's development, technical progress, market positioning, and organizational restructuring. The panel featured Panther co-founders Anish Mohammed and Oliver Gale, along with Head of Product, Saif Akhtar. First, the panel addressed pre-collected questions from Panther's official Telegram community before opening the floor to live questions from the audience. This summary highlights the key themes and insights shared during the discussion
On Development and Technical Progress
During the AMA, key updates were provided on Panther Protocol’s development and technical advancements. The protocol is nearing completion, with core features—such as KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYT (Know Your Transaction)—already operational in the testnet environment. However, evolving regulatory requirements have necessitated several refactorings to ensure the protocol’s Smart Compliance toolset aligns with the needs of regulated market operators, a primary focus for the team.
Currently, the protocol is undergoing rigorous audits from Veridise, including reviews of smart contracts and Zero-Knowledge circuits. Additional security measures, such as a front-end audit and penetration testing, are planned to ensure the technology stack remains secure and compliant with industry standards.
Looking ahead, the panel reported that the project’s timeline is advancing at an accelerated pace. Stage 7 has been completed, and Stage 8 is currently in internal testing, with open testing expected to begin soon. Stage 9 is expected to follow closely and be completed in the following weeks.
The development contributors are on track to deliver V1 of the protocol to the Panther Protocol Foundation (PPF) by the end of this year.
To optimize performance and scalability, Panther Protocol is also addressing technical debt and implementing key enhancements, including increasing Merkle tree capacity and adopting diamond proxy patterns, ensuring the protocol is efficient and scalable as it approaches full deployment.
Marketing, Customer Engagement, and Ecosystem Growth
The AMA panel shed light on Panther Protocol’s strategy for building a strong customer base and positioning itself within the market. As the project nears production readiness, marketing efforts have intensified to boost brand awareness and generate leads. A key part of this strategy is partnering with one of crypto’s leading Public Relations agencies, Luna PR (Luna). Luna will focus on augmenting Panther’s reputation by reaching a broader audience and securing the necessary visibility through earned media, social media and more, as the protocol approaches its launch.
Establishing a customer base has been a central part of Panther’s long-term strategy. Rather than targeting individual end users, Panther is focusing on partnerships with regulated entities, such as asset managers. Recently, PVL has also begun exploring alternative use cases in other sectors that may potentially require confidentiality in payments, including healthcare providers, and online gaming platforms. These partnerships are vital to Panther’s goal of providing private DeFi solutions to a wide range of industries adopting crypto for payments, offering significant potential for cross-sector adoption where privacy and compliance are critical.
When asked about revenue generation, the panel advised that while PVL is ultimately not responsible for the protocol’s revenue model,the expectation is that the Foundation will leverage its substantial treasury for ecosystem growth, incentivizing developers, partners, and Zone Managers to adopt and expand Panther’s infrastructure.
Panther is strategically focused on ensuring that its offerings reach the right stakeholders and industries. The protocol's near-term readiness and compliance-driven approach make it a compelling option for businesses looking to adopt privacy-enhanced financial services. Through these strategic efforts, Panther aims to position itself as a leader in privacy-focused DeFi solutions as it approaches V1 readiness.
Organizational Foundation
The AMA panel also relayed PPF’s intentions regarding the Foundation’s intention to restructure, with Switzerland identified as a choice jurisdiction. This framework is an important pillar of Panther Protocol’s ability to function in alignment with global regulatory standards, particularly given the complexity of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.
PVL, the software engineering agency developing the protocol, is leading development efforts. However, the panelists noted that PPF plans to transition key responsibilities to a newly created Swiss Foundation, which will eventually oversee the protocol’s governance and operational decisions, including determining the official launch date.
The panel also emphasized Panther’s work in fostering partnerships with regulated entities for deploying Zones. The panel expressed optimism that these partnerships could come to fruition within 2024. These partnerships are central to Panther’s objective of offering privacy-enhanced financial services within compliant, regulated environments.
By laying a strong structural foundation, Panther positions itself for long-term success, providing confidential transaction infrastructure for decentralized finance.
Conclusion
As Panther Protocol approaches its V1 launch, the team is focused on finalizing its testnet, delivering the final features, and conducting thorough audits and testing. Simultaneously, efforts are being made to build market interest, raise awareness, and establish legal structures to support the protocol’s long-term success.