The Blockchain Transparency Problem
Public blockchains are transparent by design. Every transaction, every state change, every interaction is visible to everyone. This creates real problems:
- Front-running: Validators and bots extract value by reordering your transactions
- Information leakage: Competitors see your trading strategies and positions
- Privacy violations: Personal financial data is permanently public
- Limited use cases: Many applications simply can't exist without privacy
CIFER brings selective privacy to public chains—encrypt what needs to be private while keeping the benefits of decentralization and transparency where it matters.
Use Cases
Sealed-Bid Auctions
Run fair auctions where bids are encrypted until reveal. Prevent front-running and ensure no bidder can see others' bids before committing.
Private Transactions
Execute token transfers and DeFi operations without exposing amounts or counterparties on-chain. Compliance-friendly privacy.
Confidential Governance
Enable private voting on DAOs and governance proposals. Votes are encrypted until the voting period ends, preventing vote manipulation.
Hidden Game State
Build on-chain games with hidden information. Card games, strategy games, and competitive applications with true secrets.
Why Build with CIFER
Integration Flow
Define Privacy Policy
Specify what data should be encrypted and the conditions for decryption (time lock, threshold, governance).
Encrypt Off-Chain
Users encrypt sensitive data through CIFER before submitting transactions. Only ciphertext goes on-chain.
Store On-Chain
Encrypted data is stored in your smart contract. Anyone can see the ciphertext, but only authorized parties can decrypt.
Conditional Reveal
When conditions are met, CIFER's TEE network releases decryption keys or performs computation on encrypted data.
Quick Example
// Encrypt a bid before submitting on-chain
import { CIFER } from '@cifer/sdk';
const cifer = new CIFER({ networkId: 'mainnet' });
// Encrypt bid amount with time-lock policy
const encryptedBid = await cifer.encrypt({
data: { amount: '1000000000000000000' }, // 1 ETH in wei
policy: {
type: 'timelock',
revealTime: auctionEndTime,
contractAddress: auctionContract.address
}
});
// Submit encrypted bid on-chain
await auctionContract.submitBid(encryptedBid.ciphertext);
// After auction ends, bids are automatically revealed
// via CIFER's TEE oracle networkFrequently Asked Questions
How does blockchain encryption work?
CIFER provides encryption endpoints that smart contracts can call. Data is encrypted to TEE-held keys before going on-chain. When decryption conditions are met (time lock, governance vote, etc.), the TEE releases decrypted data or performs computation on encrypted values.
Does this break blockchain transparency?
Selective transparency is the goal. You choose what's private (bid amounts, vote choices, transaction details) while maintaining verifiability. Anyone can verify the encryption was done correctly and that decryption follows the stated rules.
How do I integrate with my smart contracts?
CIFER provides SDK and contract libraries. For encryption, call our API before submitting on-chain. For decryption, your contract emits an event or calls our oracle when conditions are met. We handle the cryptographic complexity.
What about MEV and front-running?
Encrypted transactions prevent front-running because miners/validators can't see transaction contents. Combined with commit-reveal schemes, CIFER effectively eliminates MEV extraction from your users' transactions.
Is this compliant with regulations?
CIFER supports compliance-friendly privacy. You can configure decryption policies that allow authorized auditors or regulators to access data when legally required, while keeping it private from the public blockchain.