The landscape of blockchain technologies is enriched by a new protagonist: Miden, an independent project born from Polygon Labs, has recently closed a funding round of 25 million dollars.
Leading the investment was a16z Crypto, one of the most influential entities in the tech venture capital sector. The goal? To scale edge execution and pave the way for large-scale institutional adoption.
In addition to a16z, the round saw the participation of major players such as 1kx, Hack VC, Finality Capital Partners, Symbolic Capital, P2 Ventures, Delta Fund, MH Ventures.
Furthermore, there are prominent individual investors such as Rune Christensen (co-founder of MakerDAO) and Sreeram Kannan (founder of EigenLayer).
A new chapter for blockchain: Miden gains the support of a16z
Miden stands out for being a zero-knowledge proof (zk) blockchain, designed to offer high scalability and native privacy.
His innovative approach is based on a hybrid consensus mode, which shifts the execution of transactions from the mainnet to the so-called “edge devices”, that is, the end users’ devices.
According to Bobbin Threadbare, co-founder of Miden and former engineer at Meta, this architecture allows overcoming the limitations of traditional blockchains:
“Allows blockchains to scale without relying on supernodes or sacrificing decentralization, while making privacy an integrated feature rather than an afterthought.”
In other words, Miden aims to solve the bottlenecks that hinder the efficiency of existing blockchains, offering a solution that compromises neither decentralization nor privacy.
One of the strengths of Miden is its ability to execute public and private transactions in full privacy. This aspect is particularly relevant for institutions, which require solutions compliant with regulations regarding data protection.
Threadbare highlighted how no blockchain currently on the market is truly ready for mass adoption:
“The reality is that up to this point, blockchains have not been able to offer privacy without compromising performance or programmability, which is a significant issue.”
In this context, Miden positions itself as a catalyst for institutional adoption, filling a gap left by existing solutions.
The project aims to provide an infrastructure that combines privacy, scalability, and censorship resistance, fundamental elements for the future of Web3.
The project has received full support from Sandeep Nailwal, founder of Polygon Labs, who described Miden as:
“The aspect of the future of blockchains. With edge execution at the center, it is not just an update, but the project for the final form of blockchain architecture.”
Roadmap and future objectives
According to Nailwal, Miden has the ambition to compete with Solana, Sui, and Aptos, positioning itself as a native chain of the Agglayer ecosystem and contributing to the growth of crosschain liquidity.
Its independent construction, he added, makes it particularly suitable to attract capital and attention to compete at the highest levels of the sector.
Furthermore, it is expected that about 10% of Miden’s native tokens will be distributed to Polygon holders and stakers, as a testament to the connection between the two ecosystems and as an incentive for participation.
The funding just obtained will be allocated to the continuous development of the platform and the launch of the mainnet, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
This milestone represents a fundamental step for the consolidation of Miden as a reference blockchain infrastructure for institutional and decentralized applications.
In the meantime, the team will continue to work on optimizing edge execution, security, and user experience, key elements to ensure a smooth transition towards wider adoption.
The theme of confidentiality is increasingly central in the debate on the evolution of blockchain technologies. According to Remi Gai, founder of Inco, the lack of privacy has so far limited institutional adoption.
Gai highlights how emerging technologies like fully homomorphic encryption can unlock up to 1 trillion dollars of capital for the cryptocurrency sector.
In this scenario, Miden positions itself as one of the most promising solutions, offering an infrastructure that meets the needs of regulatory compliance, technical scalability, and data protection.
Conclusion: Miden as a bridge between innovation and adoption
With the support of leading investors and a cutting-edge technological vision, Miden positions itself as one of the most interesting projects in the current blockchain landscape.
Its architecture based on zk-proof and edge execution could represent a breakthrough for the entire sector, opening the doors to large-scale institutional adoption.
In a moment when confidence in decentralized technologies is growing, but still hindered by structural limitations, Miden offers a concrete response to the challenges of scalability, privacy, and decentralization.
The year 2025 is shaping up to be a crucial year for its affirmation: the launch of the mainnet will be the testing ground to demonstrate whether this vision can truly become a reality.
