The Namada mainnet continues its phased rollout, with Phase 3: Shielding Party now on the horizon. This phase introduces Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) asset transfers and shielding capabilities, marking another milestone in Namada’s development as a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain.
Here’s what to expect from Phase 3 and how to get started with shielding your assets.
What Is the Shielding Party?
Phase 3, also known as the Shielding Party, brings two key functionalities to Namada:
IBC Asset Transfers: Users can now transfer assets from IBC-enabled chains like Cosmos Hub and Osmosis into the Namada network.
IBC Asset Shielding: Once transferred, these assets can be shielded within Namada’s Multi-Asset Shielded Pool (MASP), offering privacy guarantees that make it harder to trace transactions.
Supported assets at launch include:
ATOM / stATOM
OSMO / stOSMO
TIA / stTIA
INJ
Additional assets may be added over time based on community governance decisions.
How Does Shielding Work?
Once assets are transferred into Namada, users have two options:
Transparent Address: Assets can be sent to a standard transparent address, which does not provide additional privacy features.
Shielded Address: Alternatively, assets can be sent to a shielded (znAM) address, leveraging the MASP to anonymize transactions.
Shielding ensures that personally identifiable information, such as wallet addresses and transaction histories, remains private. This is especially valuable for users interacting across multiple chains in the IBC ecosystem.
How to Use Shielding
To shield assets, users must first update or re-import their accounts into the Namada Keychain extension. This ensures compatibility with shielded transfers. For Ledger wallet users, re-import functionality will be available in future updates.
Steps to shield your IBC assets:
Transfer assets from your IBC-enabled wallet (e.g., Keplr or Leap) to Namada.
Select your shielded address for deposit.
Confirm the transaction and enjoy enhanced privacy.
Once shielded, assets can remain in the MASP to earn rewards in the next phase or be transferred out while maintaining privacy protections.
What’s Next: Shielding Rewards
While Phase 3 focuses on enabling transfers and shielding, Phase 4 will introduce rewards for shielded assets. Supported assets within the MASP will earn incentives, encouraging users to contribute to Namada’s privacy infrastructure.
At launch, assets eligible for shielding rewards will include:
ATOM / stATOM
OSMO / stOSMO
TIA / stTIA
INJ
If you’re holding IBC assets and value privacy, soon the time will come to explore Namada’s shielding features and prepare for the upcoming rewards in Phase 4.
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