Midnight and Sig Network Enable Privacy for Ethereum Apps

• Midnight Foundation and Sig Network enable Ethereum applications to shield user balances, identities and transaction histories while assets remain on Ethereum.
• The integration supports private trading through Uniswap and pooled lending through Aave, using Midnight contracts and independent signers.
• Developers can use selective disclosure for compliance, while Sig Network’s stagenet supports Ethereum deposits, swaps, lending and withdrawals.

Midnight Foundation and Sig Network have partnered to bring programmable privacy to Ethereum applications without moving their assets to another blockchain. Announced by the projects, the integration lets applications retain Ethereum liquidity while shielding user balances, identities and transaction records on Midnight. The system uses independent signers to authorize transactions requested by Midnight contracts.

Sig Network gives a Midnight contract control over an Ethereum account through a signing process. A Compact circuit validates each user request, burns the corresponding shielded claim and queues an Ethereum transaction.

Next, independent signers produce an Ethereum signature through a threshold system. No single signer can authorize transactions alone. Ethereum then processes the transaction, and its outcome returns to Midnight, where the user’s balance updates.

The assets remain on Ethereum throughout the process. Nothing is bridged or wrapped, although transaction amounts and timing on Ethereum remain publicly visible. Individual user balances and transaction histories stay shielded on Midnight.

Gareth Christian-Lim, director of growth at Midnight Foundation, said the arrangement combines privacy with accountability. Applications can disclose records when required, according to the partnership announcement.

The integration supports several potential applications, including private trading through Uniswap and pooled lending through Aave. Orders can be combined on Midnight before the pool trades the net amount on Uniswap. Similarly, pooled deposits can generate lending income without publicly linking individual depositors to the pool.

Applications can also support private positions on prediction markets and perpetuals venues. Shielded deposit and withdrawal tools can use one-time addresses to avoid reusing addresses across transactions.

David Millar-Durrant, CEO of Sig Network, said developers can add privacy without rebuilding existing applications. Teams can introduce private pools first, then move additional strategy and routing logic onto Midnight.

Midnight contracts define accepted deposits, screening requirements and disclosure permissions. Applications maintain records on Midnight’s ledger and can use selective disclosure to reconcile ownership without exposing information publicly.

Sig Network is live on Midnight stagenet, supporting Ethereum deposits, Uniswap swaps, Aave supply and withdrawals. Developers can import the Signet module into Compact and queue transactions directly from circuits.

The repository includes an ERC-20 vault example, deployment tools and integration tests. MinoCrab, an experimental embedded language, also compiles the same contracts using standard Rust tooling.