Seismic Raises $10 Million to Bring Real Privacy to Public Blockchains
A new blockchain startup called Seismic just raised $10 million in a funding round led by a16z, bringing its total raised capital to $17 million.
Why this matters
Fintech companies want to use public blockchains for things like:
- cross-border payments
- lending
- cash accounts
…but they can’t, because public blockchains are too transparent. Sensitive customer data can’t be exposed on a public ledger.
That’s the barrier Seismic is aiming to break.
What Seismic is Building
Seismic is developing a privacy-first blockchain, where privacy is built at the base protocol level, not as a patch on top.
This means:
- Smart contracts can process sensitive data privately
- Applications can share and update private states
- Zero-knowledge proofs ensure correctness without breaking composability
The network is already live in devnet.
Early partners
- Brookwell → stablecoin-powered cash accounts
- Cred Protocol → private credit scoring
Business model
Seismic expects to start making money early next year through:
- per-transaction fees
- later: fiat on/off-ramps
- and card programs
Why a16z is doubling down
a16z first invested in Seismic back in June and argued then that:
- the transparency of blockchains is a major barrier to financial services and healthcare
- zero-knowledge tools exist, but they make app-building difficult
- Seismic’s architecture could be the breakthrough needed
They compare this moment to the early internet:
Before HTTPS, e-commerce couldn’t take off.
Before privacy layers, blockchain can’t reach mainstream adoption.
