Shutter Network
Shutter Network is an open-source threshold encryption protocol that prevents malicious MEV, front-running, and censorship on blockchain networks. It serves dApp developers, DAO governance participants, and blockchain validators through Shielded Trading, Shielded Voting, and a developer API.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersMainz, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Shutter Network does
Shutter Network is an open-source threshold encryption protocol built and maintained by brainbot gmbh, a German software company headquartered in Mainz, Germany. The protocol's core technology uses Distributed Key Generation (DKG) and a network of independent Keyper nodes to encrypt transactions and votes until a predefined time or event, ensuring no single entity can unilaterally control decryption timing. This approach enables cryptographic protection against malicious MEV, front-running, sandwich attacks, real-time censorship, and governance manipulation rather than relying on trust-based solutions such as TEEs.
Shutter's product portfolio centers on three live offerings: Shielded Trading, an encrypted mempool live on Gnosis Chain mainnet since July 11, 2024 with a 4-of-7 Keyper threshold; Shielded Voting, a DAO governance solution integrated with Snapshot serving 600+ DAOs and over 43,000 voting addresses; and the Shutter API (with TypeScript SDK), launched in March 2025 to let any dApp developer integrate threshold encryption at the application layer. The project is governed by Shutter DAO 0x36, which holds $6.3M in treasury assets, has 2,500+ members, and has approved 41 of 75 proposals distributing $3.7M in grants. Other notable partners include Nethermind, Gateway.fm, EigenLayer, Blockful, Octant, and Decent, with a stated objective to enshrine encrypted mempool standards through EIP-8105 LUCID.
Revenue generation mechanisms are not publicly disclosed and the project operates as free, open-source software distributed under a DAO/governance model. Funding has been sourced from grants, community contributions, an undisclosed strategic contribution from OKX Ventures in June 2023, and DAO treasury deployment including $1.2M USDC into Octant v2 vaults. The customer base is horizontal rather than vertical: dApp developers, blockchain validators, DAOs and their governance participants, plus gaming and auction applications use Shutter's SDK and RPC endpoints without a documented pricing layer or fee structure.
Shutter Network firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shutter Network
- Legal name
- brainbot gmbh
- Website
- https://shutter.network
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Shutter Network is an open-source threshold encryption protocol that prevents malicious MEV, front-running, and censorship on blockchain networks. It serves dApp developers, DAO governance participants, and blockchain validators through Shielded Trading, Shielded Voting, and a developer API.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shutter Network industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Blockchain Privacy and MEV Protection Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Secrets Management (Passwords, API Keys, Tokens) (HDADAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Decentralized Data Availability & Storage Verification (DA layers, proofs of storage/replication, audit networks) (FSAPALAH)
Keywords
Where Shutter Network is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mainz
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Shutter Network business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Open-source Protocol / DAO Governance: Shutter Network is a free, open-source software protocol governed by Shutter DAO 0x36. The SHU governance token is used for DAO governance, staking for Keyper incentives, and delegated staking. Revenue generation mechanisms are not explicitly disclosed; the project appears to be primarily funded through grants, investor contributions (OKX Ventures), and community contributions.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Shutter Network product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shutter Network provides a free, open-source threshold encryption protocol that prevents malicious MEV, front-running, sandwich attacks, and censorship on blockchain networks. Its products include an encrypted mempool (Shielded Trading) live on Gnosis Chain mainnet, encrypted DAO voting (Shielded Voting) integrated with Snapshot serving 600+ DAOs, and a developer API/SDK (Shutter API) that allows any dApp to integrate commit-and-reveal cryptographic workflows via a network of independent Keyper nodes that collectively manage encryption/decryption keys.
Product overview
Shutter Network is an open-source threshold encryption protocol providing a suite of privacy and fairness products. The core offerings include Shielded Trading (encrypted mempool for MEV protection on Gnosis Chain), Shielded Voting (private DAO governance via Snapshot integration), and Shutter API (developer SDK for integrating encryption into any dApp). The ecosystem is governed by Shutter DAO 0x36, which manages Keyper elections, grants, and protocol development. Products work together through a distributed Keyper network that generates encryption/decryption keys, ensuring no single entity controls transaction ordering or vote revelation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Shielded Trading: Encrypted mempool product that protects traders from front-running, sandwich attacks, and real-time censorship on Gnosis Chain.
- Shielded Voting
- Shutter API
- Shutter DAO 0x36
Products and services
- Shielded Trading Encrypted mempool product that keeps transactions encrypted until validators commit to their inclusion, protecting traders on Gnosis Chain from front-running, sandwich attacks, and real-time censorship.
- Shielded Voting Private ballot mechanism that encrypts DAO votes until the poll closes, preventing whale dominance, bandwagoning, and strategic voting based on early results. Integrated with Snapshot.
- Shutter API REST API that provides dApp developers access to Shutter's threshold encryption network for commit-and-reveal workflows across governance, gaming, DeFi, and auctions without requiring protocol-level changes.
- Shutter Explorer Public interface that surfaces validator activity, transaction lifecycle tracking, and real-time protocol operations for the Shutter network on Gnosis Chain.
- Shutter DAO 0x36 Decentralized autonomous organization governing the Shutter implementation, managing Keyper elections, grant funding, and ecosystem growth through the SHU governance token.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 43,000 addresses have used Shutterized shielded voting on Snapshot
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Shutter Network
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Shutter Network technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature7 records
Shutter Network partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Gnosis ChainflagshipGnosis Chain partnered with Shutter to launch the Shutterized Gnosis Chain (live July 11, 2024), the first mainnet implementation of Shutter's threshold encrypted mempool. Gnosis Chain validators accept encrypted transactions, protecting users from MEV and censorship.
- SnapshotflagshipSnapshot adopted Shutter's Shielded Voting, bringing encrypted voting to over 600 DAOs. Votes remain encrypted until the poll closes, preventing whale dominance and strategic voting based on early results.
- NethermindcoreNethermind developed and maintains the Shutterized client implementation for Gnosis Chain validators. The Nethermind execution client was updated to support encrypted transactions and validator registration for Shutter.
- BlockfulcoreBlockful was selected by Shutter DAO 0x36 through governance to develop the Keyper staking and delegated staking mechanism. Blockful is building the technical implementation of the staking system with an open roadmap.
- Gateway.fmcoreGateway.fm supported the launch of Shutterized Gnosis Chain by bringing a significant number of validators that accept encrypted transactions, enabling broader network participation.
- DecentcoreDecent provides the onchain governance platform for Shutter DAO 0x36, hosting DAO proposals, voting, and delegation functionality at app.decentdao.org.
- OctantcoreShutter DAO 0x36 partnered with Octant v2 to deploy $1.2M USDC into Octant v2 ERC-4626 vaults using Morpho's Steakhouse USDC strategy. Yield funds the Shutter Champions ecosystem growth program. Octant provides institutional-grade vault infrastructure and funding management tools.
- EigenLayerminorEigenLayer announced encrypted mempool integration with Shutter Network for L2 rollups via its restaking ecosystem, exploring AVS (Actively Validated Services) integration for Shutter's encrypted mempool.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Shutter Network competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Espresso Systems: Espresso builds shared sequencing and DA infrastructure for rollups. Listed as a Shutter partner ecosystem member, Espresso's sequencing layer is a natural integration point for encrypted mempools and the two could converge on a shared privacy/sequencing stack.
- Secret Network: Secret Network is a privacy-preserving smart contract blockchain with encrypted inputs, outputs, and state. It serves a comparable developer need (private/encrypted computation) via a different architecture (TEE-based secret nodes), positioning it as a partial substitute for Shutter's app-layer use cases.
- Aztec Network: Aztec is a privacy-first ZK-rollup on Ethereum providing encrypted smart contract execution. While Aztec is a full L2 rather than a mempool encryption layer, both address the same end-user demand for transaction privacy and MEV protection on public chains.
Direct peers
- Lit Protocol: Lit Protocol provides threshold cryptography and decentralized key management for Web3 applications, including conditional decryption and access control. Shutter and Lit both offer threshold-encryption-as-a-service to dApp developers, competing for the same developer mindshare and use cases (gating, encryption, MPC).
- Threshold Network: Threshold Network (formerly NuCypher + Keep) provides threshold cryptography services such as proxy re-encryption and random beacon for Ethereum. It is a direct peer in the threshold-cryptography infrastructure space, with overlapping DKG and key management primitives.
- Flashbots: Flashbots builds MEV-related infrastructure (MEV-Boost, SUAVE) for Ethereum. Both companies target the same problem — front-running, sandwich attacks, and MEV extraction — via different technical approaches, making Flashbots the most direct competitor and a potential partner for shared encrypted mempool design.
- Arcium: Arcium (formerly Elusiv) provides encrypted supercomputing via a decentralized confidential compute network using MPC/secure multi-party computation. It overlaps directly with Shutter's confidential/encrypted compute thesis and is a comparable threshold-crypto-based network targeting Web3.
- MEV Blocker (CoW Protocol): MEV Blocker (built by CoW Protocol, a Shutter customer) provides MEV protection for Ethereum transactions via private order flow. It is a competing approach to encrypted mempools — protecting users from MEV without threshold encryption — and is a relevant benchmark for end-user outcomes.
Broad incumbents
- EigenLayer: EigenLayer is the leading restaking protocol and AVS framework on Ethereum, and a Shutter partner. While not a direct peer, EigenLayer's AVS model is a potential substrate for hosting Shutter's Keyper network with restaked economic security, making it a strategic platform peer.
Others
- Nethermind: Nethermind is a core Ethereum execution client developer and a key Shutter integration partner (built the Shutterized client). While not a direct competitor, Nethermind is the critical distribution channel for validator adoption of Shutterized chains and a strategic ecosystem participant.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Shutter Network social profiles
Digital presenceShutter Network financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shutter Network leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Shutter Network funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shutter Network M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shutter Network
What does Shutter Network do?
Shutter Network provides a free, open-source threshold encryption protocol that prevents malicious MEV, front-running, sandwich attacks, and censorship on blockchain networks. Its products include an encrypted mempool (Shielded Trading) live on Gnosis Chain mainnet, encrypted DAO voting (Shielded Voting) integrated with Snapshot serving 600+ DAOs, and a developer API/SDK (Shutter API) that allows any dApp to integrate commit-and-reveal cryptographic workflows via a network of independent Keyper nodes that collectively manage encryption/decryption keys.
Is Shutter Network a public or private company?
Shutter Network is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Shutter Network founded?
Shutter Network was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Shutter Network based?
Shutter Network is headquartered in Mainz, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Shutter Network make money?
One revenue line is on record: open-source Protocol / DAO Governance.
Who are Shutter Network's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Espresso Systems, Secret Network and Aztec Network. Direct peers are Lit Protocol, Threshold Network, Flashbots, Arcium and MEV Blocker (CoW Protocol). EigenLayer is listed as a broad incumbent. Nethermind is listed as an others.
Does Shutter Network have an API?
Yes. Shutter API is a threshold encryption service that allows developers to integrate fairness, privacy, and security into decentralized applications. It provides a commit-and-reveal mechanism where users encrypt data (bids, votes, game moves) and submit it, with decryption keys released by independent Keypers at predefined times. The API enables MEV protection, sealed-bid auctions, private voting, fair gaming, and parimutuel betting. Available on Gnosis Chain mainnet (https://shutter-api.shutter.network/api/) and Chiado testnet (https://shutter-api.chiado.staging.shutter.network/api/). Developer documentation is at docs.shutter.network/docs/protocol/api.
What industry is Shutter Network in?
Shutter Network's product category is Blockchain Privacy and MEV Protection Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADAFAD, Secrets Management (Passwords, API Keys, Tokens), with a secondary code of FSAPALAH, Decentralized Data Availability & Storage Verification (DA layers, proofs of storage/replication, audit networks). Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 6199.