In the world of cryptocurrencies, where transparency has long been considered a fundamental advantage, a project emerges that radically changes this paradigm. Seismic Systems is not just another L1 blockchain, but a true revolution in the approach to privacy and security of decentralized networks. Seismic is an L1 blockchain that enables everyday developers to build encrypted DeFi, creating new opportunities for developers and users.
Lyron Co Ting Keh is the founder of Seismic and previously a research fellow at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He has a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University. His path to creating Seismic is a combination of deep academic knowledge and practical experience in the most promising technology companies.
Lyron earned his master's degree in computer science from Stanford University, one of the world's leading technical universities. His work at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory gave him a deep understanding of complex computational systems and cryptography.
Experience: X, the moonshot factory is a particularly important stage in Lyron's career. X, the moonshot factory (formerly known as Google X) is a research laboratory of Alphabet Inc. that works on revolutionary technological projects. It was here that his vision of how technologies can radically change the world was formed.
Lyron grew up in the Philippines and then moved to Los Angeles for high school. He started programming in middle school, which gave him a strong technical foundation. This diverse cultural and educational background shaped his unique perspective on global technological problems.
We created Seismic by restructuring the open-source blockchain stack around secure hardware. At its core, Seismic clones the EVM's major memory segments into transparent and encrypted regions. The surrounding system then maintains the chain of encryption as memory flows between these two regions at every stage of state replication.
Unlike traditional blockchains where the network state is publicly accessible, Seismic implements the concept of encrypted global state. This means that:
User balances remain completely private
Transaction history cannot be tracked by third parties
Smart contract interactions occur in an encrypted environment
The system provides encrypted pointers, which is critical for:
Auctions: Participants can bid without revealing their strategies
Stablecoins: Stabilization mechanisms can function without revealing internal algorithms
Complex financial instruments: Allows creating sophisticated DeFi products
The most complex part of the architecture is the controlled exchange between encrypted and transparent states. This allows:
Gradual transparency: Developers can choose which parts of their applications should be transparent
Integration with existing systems: Ability to interact with traditional blockchains
Regulatory compliance: Ability to provide necessary information to regulators when needed
Seismic uses secure hardware as the foundation for its architecture. This includes:
Trusted Execution Environments (TEE): Isolated computing environments
Hardware Security Modules (HSM): Specialized cryptographic devices
Attestation mechanisms: Systems for verifying computational integrity
Despite radical changes in architecture, Seismic maintains compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which means:
Easy migration: Existing smart contracts can be adapted for Seismic
Familiar tools: Developers can use familiar frameworks
Broad ecosystem: Access to a vast number of existing libraries and solutions
Ethereum launched with two key problems: limited scalability and forced transparency. Limited scalability made every transaction slow and expensive. Forced transparency left every transaction exposed and scrutinized.
The blockchain industry has successfully solved the scalability problem through various L2 solutions, sharding, and other technologies. However, the problem of forced transparency remained unsolved until the emergence of Seismic.
Traditional approaches to privacy in blockchain focused on wallet-level encryption:
ZCash: Private transactions, but limited smart contract functionality
Monero: Complete privacy, but lack of programmability
Tornado Cash: Mixer for Ethereum, but regulatory issues
The focus on wallet privacy led to:
Limited number of applications: Difficulty in creating private DeFi protocols
Poor user experience: Users find it difficult to interact with private systems
Regulatory uncertainty: Complexity of compliance requirements
Seismic moves encryption to the protocol level, which allows:
Automatic privacy: All transactions are private by default
Complex interactions: Ability to create private DeFi protocols
Seamless UX: Users don't feel a difference in usage
Seismic successfully raised $7 million in a seed round led by A16z Crypto — one of the most respected venture funds in the crypto industry. The round also included:
Polychain Capital: Leading crypto fund focused on infrastructure projects
Alliance DAO: Incubator for Web3 projects
1kx: European crypto fund focused on DeFi
This is a particularly impressive achievement since this is the first funding round for Lyron Co Ting Keh as a founder. The trust of such respected investors indicates:
Technical strength of the team: Deep knowledge in cryptography and blockchain
Market potential: Great need for private DeFi solutions
Competitive advantages: Unique approach to the privacy problem
NIBBLE is an innovative protocol that gives users a share of revenue in their favorite restaurant. This project demonstrates how an encrypted blockchain can create new business models:
Private investments: Customers can invest in restaurants without revealing investment amounts
Anonymous payments: Receiving profit shares without revealing identity
Protected finances: Restaurant financial information remains confidential
New funding sources: Restaurants can raise funds from regular customers
Customer loyalty: Financial interest increases attachment
Privacy: Competitors cannot access financial data
RIFF is a unique protocol that combines music and DeFi through bonding curve mechanisms. This project shows the creative possibilities of encrypted blockchain:
Private bets: Users can bet on music tracks without revealing amounts
Encrypted metrics: Track popularity is determined without revealing exact figures
Anonymous payments: Artists and investors receive rewards privately
FOLIO creates a global "pay-it-forward" chain where users can do good deeds anonymously:
Private donations: Size and source of help remain confidential
Anonymous recipients: People can receive help without social pressure
Global network: System works worldwide without borders
If you're interested in learning, we suggest: Starting with high-level context on the , , and behind Seismic. Complete documentation is available for developers who want to start working with the platform.
The encrypted blockchain. Seismic has 49 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub. Open source allows the community to study and contribute to platform development.
Developers can set up a local environment to test their applications before deploying to the main network.
Seismic maintains an exclusive group of developers on Telegram, accessible only through invitation. This ensures:
High-quality discussions: Only serious developers
Direct support: Access to the Seismic team
Early access: Ability to test new features
Open Discord channel for the broader community where you can:
Discuss projects: Share ideas and get feedback
Seek collaboration: Find partners for development
Get news: Stay updated on latest developments
Seismic allows creating lending protocols where:
Borrowers don't reveal their financial data publicly
Lenders can assess risks without compromising privacy
Credit history is formed in encrypted form
Companies can use Seismic for:
Private IPOs: Raising funds without revealing investors
Internal finance: Managing corporate assets
B2B payments: Confidential settlements between companies
Private ownership: Owners can avoid revealing their assets
Fractional investments: Investing in real estate without revealing shares
Mortgage products: Lending secured by real estate
Art investments: Trading art without revealing owners
Collectibles: Private trading of rare objects
Precious metals: Investments in gold and silver
Daily purchases: Payment without revealing balances
Online shopping: Anonymous purchases online
Subscriptions: Private payments for services
Private donations: Supporting content creators anonymously
Internal currencies: Platform tokens without revealing balances
Gaming assets: Trading in games without revealing wealth
Seismic advantages:
Full smart contract support
EVM compatibility
Better user experience
Zcash advantages:
Longer history and proven security
Greater liquidity
Wider adoption
Seismic advantages:
Better approach to encryption
Stronger team
More funding
Secret Network advantages:
Operating mainnet
Larger ecosystem
Established community
Seismic advantages:
Focus on DeFi
Simpler architecture
Better development tools
Oasis Network advantages:
Launched network
Academic support
Regulatory compliance
Protocol-level encryption: Encryption at the deepest level
Secure hardware integration: Using state-of-the-art secure technologies
EVM compatibility: Easy migration of existing projects
New business models: Ability to create previously impossible products
Reduced compliance costs: Less need for expensive legal solutions
Global accessibility: Operation in different jurisdictions
Encryption always comes with a performance cost:
Computational complexity: Encrypted operations require more resources
Network latency: Additional steps to maintain privacy
Scalability: Difficulty processing large numbers of transactions
New attack vectors: Encrypted systems may have unique vulnerabilities
Cryptographic risks: Dependence on complex mathematical algorithms
Hardware dependencies: Risks related to secure hardware
User education: Need to educate the market
Developer inertia: Reluctance to switch to new platforms
Network effects: Difficulty achieving critical mass
Compliance: Balance between privacy and regulatory requirements
AML/KYC: Integration with anti-money laundering procedures
Different jurisdictions: Need to adapt to different legal systems
Ethereum: Possibility of integrating privacy features
Solana: Competition in terms of performance
New projects: Constant emergence of new competitors
Seismic plans to launch a developer testnet within a month, which will include:
Full functionality: All core features for testing
Documentation: Detailed guides for developers
Tools: SDK and other development tools
Partnerships: Collaboration with leading DeFi projects
Grants: Developer support programs
Hackathons: Competitions to stimulate innovation
Launch of the main network with:
Full security: Audit from leading firms
Stability: Load testing
Production readiness: Enterprise client support
DeFi protocols: Development of financial ecosystem
RWA integration: Integration of real assets
Cross-chain bridges: Connections to other blockchains
Consumer applications: Applications for ordinary users
Enterprise solutions: Solutions for large companies
Global expansion: Expansion worldwide
Quantum resistance: Preparation for quantum computers
Advanced features: New encryption capabilities
Interoperability: Deeper integration with other systems
While detailed tokenomics have not yet been announced, one can expect:
Transaction fees: Payment for network transactions
Staking rewards: Rewards for validators
Governance rights: Participation in protocol governance
Team allocation: Share for development team
Investor allocation: Share for investors
Community allocation: Share for community and developers
Developer grants: Grants for creating applications
Revenue sharing: Share of usage fees
Technical support: Free support from the team
Block rewards: Rewards for creating blocks
Transaction fees: Share of transaction fees
Staking rewards: Additional rewards for staking
Seismic Systems represents a true revolution in blockchain technology, offering a comprehensive solution to the privacy problem in decentralized networks. The project combines:
Protocol-level encryption: Encryption at the deepest level
Secure hardware integration: Using state-of-the-art technologies
EVM compatibility: Easy migration for developers
Experienced founder: Lyron Co Ting Keh with background at Stanford and Google X
Academic foundation: Deep knowledge in cryptography and AI
Practical experience: Work at leading technology companies
$7M seed round: Serious funding from top investors
A16z Crypto: Support from the most respected crypto fund
Strategic partners: Polychain, Alliance, 1kx and others
Huge TAM: The entire DeFi market can benefit from privacy
New opportunities: Creation of previously impossible products
Global relevance: Privacy problem is important worldwide
Seismic has all the prerequisites to become a leader in the field of private blockchains and rethink our understanding of what decentralized networks of the future should be. The project is at the intersection of several mega-trends: the growing importance of privacy, the development of the DeFi ecosystem, and the need for more sophisticated financial instruments.
While complete technical details aren't available, SeismicSys appears to be developing an encrypted blockchain infrastructure that keeps transactions and balances private by default. This differs from many privacy-focused alternatives that offer privacy as an optional feature rather than a core system characteristic.
The success of Seismic could become a catalyst for mass adoption of private blockchains and the creation of a new category of decentralized applications that combine the transparency of decentralization with the privacy of traditional financial systems.
For developers interested in collaborating with Seismic, founder Lyron Co Ting Keh is available for direct contact via Telegram: @lyronc. Detailed documentation is available at docs.seismic.systems, and the project code can be found on GitHub.
