RPCh Launch Brings First Ever Private RPC Calls to Web3 Wallets

A Swiss privacy project has finally closed a privacy hole at the heart of crypto and web3 with RPCh, a service that obscures the user data leaked by the trillions of RPC calls which power wallets, crypto transactions, and DeFi services.

RPCh is now live for users of privacy-focused crypto wallet BlockWallet, or anyone can try it out with other wallets with free trial access via access.rpch.net

Billions of RPC calls are handled each day, providing a flow of information between blockchains, users and their crypto wallets. But this black-box infrastructure has come under increasing scrutiny: last year leading crypto wallet Metamask and major RPC provider Infura, billion-dollar projects both owned by Consensys, came under fire for storing users’ IP addresses.

The RPCh launch was held at a packed event in Denver, Colorado as part of ETH Denver. A technical demonstration showed RPCh in action: a Cowswap trade was performed live over RPCh using Blockwallet with RPCh directly integrated. The trade was seamless, with no appreciable delay. This is important for users, who often want privacy but only if the user experience is simple and fast.

Aleksandras Gaska, BlockWallet founder, said: “Privacy and security cannot be the 'advanced' option - it must be the only option, but the responsibility lies in the builders' hands. We should build crypto products that respect user privacy and security by default and help users navigate Web3 freely. RPCh enables that on a node level, and we are happy to be creating a safer-by-default Web3 experience together with HOPR.”

RPCh founders Sebastian Bürgel and Rik Krieger then showed how RPCh can be used with almost any crypto wallet on any EVM-compatible blockchain.

“Since the launch of the Internet 40 years ago, IP addresses have helped connect us but also exposed users to privacy leaks. This error was imported wholesale into crypto and web3, and even using a VPN won’t help. With RPCh, users can finally use their crypto wallet the way it was intended: privately and securely.”

RPCh is powered by HOPR, a decentralized mixnet designed by the same team as RPCh. Anyone can run a HOPR node and be paid in HOPR tokens for relaying data. Now with the launch of RPCh, the HOPR network will gain a significant and consistent revenue stream: essential for supporting node runners and scaling up the network.

“Our focus on wallets is designed to bring privacy to the largest number of users as quickly as possible: wallets are an essential part of every user’s crypto experience, and the design of RPCh means it can be integrated directly into each wallet to give users direct control of their financial privacy,” said RPCh co-founder Rik Krieger.

RPCh will be adding new privacy features over the coming months, as well as integrating more and more wallets directly. Almost a dozen wallets have signed up for integration workshops, and collaborations with industry leader Metamask are ongoing. RPCh’s goal is clear: to bring true privacy to millions of crypto users for the first time, as fast as possible.

About RPCh

RPCh was created by the HOPR Association as the first commercial service to be built on the HOPR privacy mixnet. After realizing how mishandled data was by web3 services, the Association invested in and created a sub-team to pioneer a service to solve the data leak created by today’s wallets. This is how RPCh was founded, a team of talented and motivated individuals who work closely with the HOPR Association to solve data privacy in web3.