Vitalik Buterin-backed privacy protocol has processed more than $6M in transaction volume; Starbloom Capital leads round
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Nov. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 0xbow (pronounced "OX-bow"), the Nashville-based company behind Privacy Pools, announced today it has closed a $3.5 million seed round led by Starbloom Capital. The raise follows the Ethereum Foundation's integration of Privacy Pools into its Kohaku wallet, demonstrated at the Cypherpunk Congress during Devconnect in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Privacy Pools has processed $6 million in transaction volume across more than 1,500 users since its March 2025 launch on Ethereum mainnet. The protocol has completed 1,186 withdrawals to date.
The Ethereum Foundation's decision to integrate Privacy Pools into Kohaku marks the first instance of privacy-preserving technology being incorporated into core Ethereum infrastructure. The integration demonstrates growing institutional acceptance of compliant privacy solutions following years of regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency mixing services.
The seed round included Coinbase Ventures, BOOST VC, Status Research & Development GmbH, Plutos Capital, and angel investors including Balaji Srinivasan, Sam Kazemian (Frax), and Dan Finlay (Metamask). The company previously raised a pre-seed round in March 2024 that included Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Privacy in cryptocurrency faces a fundamental challenge: blockchain transparency exposes users' financial activity, but previous mixing tools that obscured transactions created regulatory risk. Privacy Pools addresses both issues simultaneously.
The protocol uses zero-knowledge proofs combined with an Association Set Provider (ASP) which is a compliance layer that screens deposits and monitors transactions in real-time. Users can cryptographically prove their funds aren't associated with illicit activity without revealing transaction details, a capability previous privacy tools lacked.
"We're solving for something the industry hasn't figured out: how to give people financial privacy without creating a haven for illicit activity," said Nathaniel Fried, CEO of 0xbow. "You shouldn't have to choose between privacy and compliance."
The protocol allows users to deposit cryptocurrency and withdraw it to a different wallet address, breaking the on-chain link between transactions. The system operates without centralized custody.
The company's ASP technology maintains a list of approved deposits, monitors transactions for suspicious activity, and can revoke access if patterns suggest illicit use. The company offers the ASP-as-a-Service (AaaS) to other privacy protocols and blockchain ecosystems seeking to implement compliant privacy features.
"We've built a system for real-time monitoring and compliance to protect privacy systems from bad actors," said Ameen Soleimani, CTO of 0xbow. "The architecture is modular, so different jurisdictions can customize the compliance rules."
Privacy in cryptocurrency has become a regulatory flashpoint. U.S. authorities sanctioned mixing services like Tornado Cash in 2022, creating legal uncertainty for users seeking transaction privacy. At the same time, institutions and high-net-worth individuals have avoided cryptocurrency in part because blockchain transparency exposes trading strategies and financial positions.
0xbow's product demonstrates that recent advances in zero-knowledge cryptography now make privacy-preserving compliance technically feasible.
"The gap between privacy and compliance has held back institutional crypto adoption for years," said James Fickel, Founder and Managing Director at Starbloom Capital. "0xbow's approach delivers transaction privacy without creating regulatory exposure. That's why we led this round."
"Privacy tools have to be built with compliance in mind from day one, not bolted on later," said Taylor Monahan, an 0xbow advisor and security engineer at MetaMask. "The ASP architecture shows you can design for both privacy and accountability simultaneously."
The funding will support expansion to additional features for Privacy Pools, blockchain networks beyond Ethereum, and engineering hiring.
"We've proven the technology works at scale. Now it's about building the infrastructure layer that other protocols can build on," said Zachary Cole, co-founder at 0xbow.
Privacy Pools is live at https://privacypools.com.
About 0xbow
0xbow is a Nashville-based cryptocurrency infrastructure company that builds compliance technology for privacy protocols. The company's Association Set Provider technology screens deposits and monitors transactions to prevent illicit use while preserving user privacy. 0xbow operates without access to user funds or transaction data. For more information, visit https://0xbow.io.
About Privacy Pools
Privacy Pools is a privacy protocol that uses zero-knowledge proofs and 0xbow’s ASP compliance screening to enable private cryptocurrency transactions. The protocol launched on Ethereum mainnet in March 2025 and currently supports private transfers of ETH, wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), and major stablecoins including USDC, USDT, DAI, and others. Privacy Pools has processed $6 million in volume across more than 1,500 users. Learn more at https://privacypools.com.
Media Contact: media@0xbow.io
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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