Overview
Encoins lets you turn ADA into a bundle of digital tokens that hide how much each one is worth. You deposit ADA, get back tokens whose value is scrambled so outside observers cannot tell the amounts apart, and later swap them back for the same amount of ADA. Think of it like swapping cash for poker chips of identical shape, where only you know which chip is worth what.
Encoins runs on Cardano and uses a math technique called Bulletproofs, a zero-knowledge proof system (a math check that confirms a result without showing the underlying data) that does not need a one-time trusted setup ceremony1. The protocol is steered by a DAO, a member-run group where holders of the ENCS utility token vote on proposals about how the project should evolve23.
Key Features
- Hidden amounts when you move value. Encoins mints tokens whose underlying ADA value is scrambled inside them, so anyone watching the blockchain cannot tell whether a token represents a small or a large amount1.
- You keep the keys. Each token is tied to a secret minting key that only you hold. No company, custodian, or admin can open the token and take the ADA inside1.
- Works alongside the rest of Cardano. Encoins tokens are standard Cardano native tokens, so they can be sent, gifted, or used in other Cardano apps that already accept native assets1.
- Open code anyone can read. The automated rulebooks (smart contracts), the supporting servers, the website, and the Bulletproofs math library are all published in public repositories under the encryptedcoins GitHub organization3.
- Community-led decisions. A DAO portal at dao.encoins.io is where ENCS token holders propose and vote on changes to Encoins2.
What to Expect
If you are a casual user, Encoins is a web app at app.encoins.io. You connect a Cardano wallet, choose how much ADA to deposit, and the app gives you back a set of private-value tokens. When you want the ADA again, you burn the tokens through the same screen and the ADA comes back to your wallet.
If you like browsing the technical side, the encryptedcoins GitHub organization holds the source code for the contracts, the Bulletproofs library, the relay backend, and the frontend. The project whitepaper walks through the design and the math behind the encrypted values, so curious readers can confirm how the privacy works rather than taking it on trust.
If you hold ENCS, the DAO is where direction-setting happens. The team has also described a planned shielded-accounts layer called the Encoins ledger, which would sit on top of the basic deposit-and-redeem flow and let users hold a single private balance instead of separate tokens. ENCS is tracked on outside market data sites including CoinMarketCap4.
