Fhenix, a layer-2 blockchain developer, has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Hack VC. The company intends to further develop its homomorphic encryption for confidentiality solutions.
Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) is the process of converting data ciphertext. It allows you to work with encrypted data without first having to decrypt it. Developers can use smart contracts to encrypt parts of their Solidity-based applications. Use cases might include confidential voting, blind auctions, decentralized identity, DeFi and more.
Guy Itzhaki, CEO of Fhenix, points to the revolutionary potential of FHE technology for Ethereum:
“After scaling, confidentiality is the next major hurdle Ethereum needs to solve in order to reach mainstream adoption. FHE is the most elegant solution to the problem of encryption because, unlike existing confidentiality solutions based on zero knowledge technology, it allows for end-to-end computation of encrypted data.”
FHE-powered transaction coprocessors
Fhenix recently announced a technical partnership with EigenLayer around the development of FHE Coprocessors. These coprocessors are designed to delegate computational tasks that require handling sensitive (i.e., encrypted) data, away from a host chain.
This solution can significantly improve FHE operations, while maintaining a high level of security.
In the meantime, Fhenix encourages developers to deploy smart contracts on the open testnet and apply for early access to the grants program.