Secret Network is a privacy-oriented blockchain built on Cosmos. By supporting encrypted inputs, outputs, and smart contract states, Secret Network enables programmable smart contracts that keep user data safe.

Secret Network's smart contracts are called Secret Contracts and allow DApps to use private data on Secret, similar to how smart contracts operate on other blockchains. However, Secret Contracts transfer encrypted inputs into encrypted outputs without exposing data. This is made possible thanks to the encrypted contract states during the execution.

Data privacy is guaranteed by combining encryption protocols and key management within a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). This allows Secret Contracts to compete for several privacy-related use cases that traditional blockchains have found difficult to accommodate. For instance, private voting mechanisms or credit scoring applications become possible since they do not expose sensitive user data on-chain with Secret.

Secret Network was born out of Enigma, a startup that developed the concept of a decentralized protocol for secret smart contracts. Enigma raised $45 million in a 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) but faced enforcement from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020 forcing a settlement with the SEC.

Secret Tokens (SCRT) are programmable like ERC-20s and usable in applications, but they remain private-by-default like Monero and similar coins. They can represent off-chain assets, or they can be fully native to Secret Network. Anyone can create a token, which can then be transferred between wallets and used in smart contracts.

When interacting with Secret Tokens (SCRT), all transactions (including the recipient and the amount transferred) and rolling balances are kept encrypted, ensuring both anonymity and confidentiality. Individuals must generate a “viewing key” in order to reveal these values, and can choose to share this with third parties for compliance situations.

Why Secret Network (SCRT) Unique?

In contrast to other public blockchains, node operators on Secret utilize specialized hardware for running code in secure enclaves called Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). In these TEEs, not even device administrators can access the information that is being decrypted.