Shielding

Namada provides the largest possible unified shielded set in the multichain, complementing other chains by seeding/retrofitting data protection via shielded actions.

• Namada creates a single asset-agnostic shielded pool for any token fungible and non-fungible token
• Namada can also seed data protection to users who want to use an asset originating from one base chain on another chain, without losing data protection
• Namada retrofits data protection to assets that were created and already used in transparent chains

Users should be aware that they can still expose personal information when transferring funds into and out of Namada via the Ethereum bridge or IBC. For example, a user bridging WETH from Ethereum may be able to obfuscate their on-chain identities to some on-chain observers by interacting with Smart contract based shielding protocols or centralized exchanges. However, a user transferring a non-fungible token or a low liquidity token that relies on price discovery on-chain, will leak more information by the nature of their asset holdings. This is also true of tokens transferred into and out of Namada via IBC. Once inside the shielded set, a user can perform shielded actions such as triggering a cross chain swap.

Shielded actions are not limited to application chains that are IBC compatible, it works with any chain that is connected to Namada, e.g. Ethereum, and the actions can be generalized to interact with any dApp, such as trading NFTs or staking ETH. For the time being, the only shielded action available is cross chain transfers, but more will be added in the future.

Best practices for leaking sensitive data include

• Bridge a highly liquid generic token into the MASP and then once in the MASP performing a shielded action to acquire the relevant tokens
• Use a different public address to bridge funds into Namada than used for other exposed transactions
• Use a TOR browser - Tor protects personal privacy by concealing a user's location and usage from anyone performing network surveillance or traffic analysis
• Use a VPN - A VPN can mask your IP address, encrypt your internet connection and make your browsing activity more anonymous.