Monthly Update | February
Table of Contents:
Fellow Panthers,
February was a busy month for Panther Protocol, with the launch of testnet Stage 4 supporting internal transfers and withdrawals, alongside Stage 1 technical enhancements for improved performance and the parallel development of Stages 5 & 6 of the dApp. February also saw the Panther tester community grow to 900+ testers.
This update covers the ecosystem’s growth, product development progress, and a peek at what’s planned for March:
Ecosystem updates
Testnet Stage 4 is live — supporting internal transfers and withdrawals
Testnet Stage 4 was released in February, supporting internal transfers and withdrawals. Stage 4 allows users to send zAssets from one zAccount to another. The release of Stage 4 marks a significant step towards the protocol’s mainnet release.
Blog: Let’s end the taboo of on-chain privacy
Our latest blog explores the need for a balanced approach to privacy and transparency in Web3. It stresses the importance of private transactions on the public ledgers. By comparing traditional finance’s privacy and DeFi’s transparency, we argue for a middle ground that supports global finance and compliance. Panther Protocol offers solutions to achieve this balance, aiming for a future where privacy and regulatory demands work together.
AMA with Panther’s Head of Product, Saif Akhtar
On February 8, we hosted an engaging AMA with Saif Akhtar, our Head of Product, and Joris Koopman, our Head of Community. Dive into the session’s recording to gain comprehensive insights into the latest updates on our testnet, including the testing process, reward systems, and what we’re planning for future releases.
Panther testnet video guide for account creation
You asked – we delivered! We’ve created a video guide to help you easily create your Panther testnet account and start earning $ZKP rewards. For a step-by-step video guide detailing how to make your very own testnet Panther account, check out our tutorial video. Follow the video to get started and earn $ZKP rewards. All you need is a MetaMask wallet and 10 minutes!
Panther Protocol testnet and rewards update
- Number of current testnet users: 900+
- Total rewards distributed: 500,000+ $ZKP
Our testnet rewards pot is 2 million $ZKP — have you signed up for our testnet yet to earn your share? Learn more and sign up to join our testnet and receive your $ZKP rewards.
Product updates
Enhancement Stage-1
As we continue to strive for parallel development efforts, a 2-week technical enhancement stage has been in progress to implement various fixes from previous stages. Here’s an overview of the enhancements made:
Panther gas management: Users can now easily transfer funds between zAssets and their Panther Gas account. This functionality is accessible by clicking the Panther Gas icon located in the top right corner of the screen (header).
UTXO consolidation for deposit: Consolidates a user’s balance into a single UTXO during deposit transactions, allowing users to utilize their entire balance in a single transaction, eliminating the need for additional MASP transactions to consolidate smaller UTXOs.
Detailed error messages: Provides users with informative error messages, improving understanding of transaction failures.
Real-time Data Synchronization: Updates to balances and vouchers are now visible in real-time, enhancing user interaction with the product.
Optimized wallet engine startup: Reduced startup time by optimizing the cold start phase.
Improved cold start for wallet engine: The ‘Create Block’ function from zAccount is incorporated into the product, allowing for scanning to start from a specific block to avoid unnecessary decryption of UTXOs created before the creation block.
Global transaction support: Allows transactions to continue in the background, even if the user navigates away, improving transaction continuity.
Visit Panther Docs to access the enhanced version of Panther testnet dApp
Plans for March
The team is working on the development of Stages 5 and 6 of the testnet in parallel and expects to release it in March.
Stage 5 developments
Stage 5 includes using a third-party Relayer service and supports gasless transactions via an Account Abstraction Paymaster contract. The team is currently working on the integration of the Relayer into the dApp.
Stage 6 developments
Stage 6 of testnet includes fee management, basic disclosures, and zAccount renewal. The team is currently working on the fee management smart contract development. We expect to release Stage 6 for public testing in mid-March. You can learn more about Stage 6 functionalities here.
About Panther
Panther Protocol is a cross-protocol layer that uses Zero-Knowledge (ZK) technology to build DeFi solutions that aim to meet ever-evolving regulatory standards while satisfying users’ on-chain data privacy needs. Panther’s goal is to enable seamless access to DeFi via a cross-chain-supported ZK compliance protocol. The Panther Protocol offers confidentiality across transactions in shielded pools, zSwap for DeFi integrations — enabling private swaps on third-party DEXs, and zTrade for internal OTC book for trading assets privately. Furthermore, Panther Protocol’s ZK primitives are generalizable to KYC, selective disclosures between trusted parties, private ID, voting, and data verification services.