Renegade

Renegade is a decentralized dark pool protocol for trading digital assets. It combines maliciously-secure MPC (for private order matching) with zkSNARK proofs (for verifiable settlement), ensuring balances, orders, and trade history remain confidential while still settling on-chain.

Renegade – On-chain Dark Pool (Private DEX with MPC + ZK)

Fits with patterns (names only)

  • Pattern: ZK Shielded Balances for Derivatives
  • Pattern: Shielded-Pool Atomic Swap (ZK-HTLC)
  • Pattern: Private ISO 20022 Messaging & Settlement
  • Pattern: MPC + CoSNARK Proofs for Derivatives

Not a substitute for

  • Not a general L2 privacy rail (e.g. shielded stablecoin pools or confidential ERC-20).
  • Not a compliance orchestration layer (no built-in regulator view keys).
  • Not a settlement bridge (does not solve cross-chain atomicity directly).

Architecture

  • Wallet model: Each trader has a private wallet committed on-chain (C(W) = H(B||O||F||K||r)), with balances and orders hidden.
  • Key hierarchy: Separate keys for root control, order matching, settlement, and viewing. Enables delegation without loss of custody.
  • Order matching: Performed in MPC clusters (SPDZ-style protocols), ensuring neither relayers nor counterparties learn each other’s hidden state.
  • Settlement: MPC outputs are wrapped in a collaborative zkSNARK that proves correct matching. Settlement notes are encrypted under counterparties’ keys and appended to the global commitment tree.
  • Relayers: Traders typically delegate matching to relayer clusters; relayers coordinate MPC handshakes but never see balances or order flow.

Privacy domains

  • Balances: hidden in wallet commitments.
  • Orders: private until matched; no public order book.
  • Trade history: only counterparties know their own trades.
  • Settlement: encrypted notes prevent leakage of transfer details.

Enterprise demand and use cases

  • Institutions / funds: dark pool execution without revealing trading strategies.
  • Exchanges / brokers: MEV-resistant order flow routing.
  • Large block traders: reduced slippage via midpoint pricing in hidden pools.
  • Early focus is on crypto spot markets, but design extends to derivatives or tokenized RWAs.

Technical details

  • Proof system: zkSNARKs (Groth16-style collaborative proofs).
  • MPC protocols: maliciously-secure SPDZ variants for order matching.
  • Commitment scheme: Merkle trees for wallets and nullifiers.
  • Encrypted settlement notes bound to on-chain commitments.
  • Relayer clusters for scalability and redundancy.

Strengths

  • Eliminates MEV: no pre-trade or post-trade transparency.
  • Fully private balances and orders, unlike lit AMMs.
  • On-chain verifiability via zkSNARK proofs.
  • Delegation model allows separation of custody, matching, and settlement.

Risks and open questions

  • Performance: MPC order matching may be latency-sensitive (seconds–minutes).
  • Coordination: relayer clusters add complexity and trust assumptions for liveness.
  • Regulatory access: no built-in view-key system; compliance may require extensions.
  • Ecosystem fit: interoperability with DeFi protocols still limited.

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