Edge Blockchain Design Targets Institutional Use Cases

Miden, an independent blockchain protocol focused on zero-knowledge (ZK) technologies for privacy-centric and scalable transaction execution, has secured $25 million in seed funding.

The funding round was led by a16z Crypto, 1kx, and Hack VC, followed by investments from Finality Capital Partners, Symbolic Capital P2 Ventures, Delta Fund, and MH Ventures. Rune Christensen from MakerDAO and Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer also participated as angel investors in the raise.

Initially incubated within Polygon Labs, the protocol operates independently and targets institutions requiring confidential blockchain transactions.

According to Miden co-founder Bobbin Threadbare, formerly an engineer at Meta, the protocol enables transaction execution on users’ edge devices, improving privacy and scalability.

“It was clear to me that this cannot be achieved with any of the existing protocols – and so, we had to design Miden from the ground up. The core idea was to move as much of the state and execution to the edge (i.e., the client side) as possible, but not more (i.e., we still need common base layer and a small set of validators for safety and liveness),” explained Threadbare.

Edge Blockchain Design Targets Institutional Use Cases

Miden achieves its core innovation through an “edge blockchain” operational model that relocates computation from central nodes to user-managed devices, including smartphones and laptops. Moreover, users can choose between processing transactions privately or publicly on an application tailored to meet institutional needs.

Its design structure makes it an ideal platform for large enterprises to execute confidential operations. Miden co-founder Azeem Khan stated that the technology would help prevent market disruptions from public transaction visibility. For example, if a large company like Apple were to process supplier payments on a public chain, it could lead to unintended market reactions.

Threadbare noted that current blockchain networks often compromise either scalability or privacy. He stated that Miden aims to remove those trade-offs, creating a platform that simultaneously serves institutions needing performance, confidentiality, and decentralization.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that Miden, the cutting-edge blockchain protocol, has raised $25M in seed funding, led by a16z Crypto, 1kx, and Hack VC. Miden’s unique “edge” blockchain architecture, where both state and execution happen on the client side, offers unparalleled privacy and scalability.

After a successful incubation period, Miden will continue building its ZK-powered blockchain and expand its ecosystem with the support of new investors: Finality Capital Partners, Symbolic Capital P2 Ventures, Delta Fund, MH Ventures, and angel investors Rune Christensen (MakerDAO) and Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer).

Miden’s technology is a perfect fit for the Polygon ecosystem, aiming to support efficient cross-chain liquidity and interoperability within the Agglayer ecosystem. As part of its token distribution strategy, Miden will airdrop about 10% of its native token supply to POL token holders and stakers.

“We are entering a new era in blockchain architecture with protocols like Miden, which push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. “In a departure from the traditional model of relying on supernodes or centralized validators, Miden's edge-execution model marks a necessary and exciting shift.”

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