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§ Private Profile · Stanford, CA, USA
Hinkal is a technology company.
Hinkal provides a privacy protocol for blockchains, anonymizing wallet identities, transaction amounts, and counterparties while ensuring on-chain verifiability. Supporting Ethereum, Solana, and EVM chains, it offers Hinkal Pay for confidential settlements, a Payments SDK for private treasury flows, and a multichain wallet. The protocol integrates compliance features like selective disclosure and Know-Your-Transaction (KYT) enforcement.
Founded in 2022 by Georgi Koreli and Nika Koreli, Hinkal emerged from the insight that institutional blockchain adoption demands both privacy and regulatory compliance. Incubated at Stanford, the founders addressed the lack of inherent confidentiality for enterprise financial operations, effectively balancing transactional privacy with crucial compliance.
Hinkal targets businesses and institutions requiring confidential financial workflows on chains, such as settlements, treasury management, and payroll. Its vision is to accelerate blockchain adoption in traditional finance by delivering private, compliant infrastructure. Hinkal empowers users to conduct financial activities with privacy by default, alongside controlled transparency for regulatory mandates.
Hinkal has raised $5.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Hinkal has raised $5.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Hinkal has raised $5.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in April 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2024 | $1M Seed | — | BDC Venture Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Associates, Rough Draft Ventures | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2023 | $4M Seed | — | BDC Venture Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Associates, Rough Draft Ventures | Announced |
Hinkal is a blockchain technology company developing the Hinkal Protocol, an institutional-grade, self-custodial platform that enables private, secure transactions and interactions with decentralized applications (dApps) on major EVM chains.[1][2][3] It provides a self-service dApp and software development kit (SDK) using ZK-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) for user and transaction confidentiality, supporting activities like token transfers, swapping, staking, liquidity provision, and WalletConnect integrations across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB, and Base.[2][3] Hinkal serves crypto users, developers, and institutions seeking privacy without sacrificing self-custody, solving the problem of on-chain transparency exposing sensitive financial data through features like disposable public addresses and a 24/7 Hexagate wallet that flags illicit activity.[2] The company, based in Stanford, United States, has raised $5.5 million from prominent investors including Draper Associates, SALT, Psalion, No Limit Holdings, PEER VC, Aquanow, Draper Dragon, NGC Ventures, Orange DAO, Web3.com Ventures, Quantstamp, and Superblock.[1][2]
Hinkal emerged from Stanford, United States, led by co-founders Georgi Koreli and Nika Koreli, with Adam Zasada as head of the ecosystem.[1][2] While specific founder backgrounds beyond their Stanford ties are not detailed in available sources, the protocol was built to address privacy gaps in public blockchains, leveraging ZK-SNARKs on Ethereum for confidential dApp interactions.[2] Early traction came from securing backing by high-profile venture firms and individuals linked to Animoca, Menlo Ventures, and Bitfury, alongside $5.5 million in funding, positioning it as a privacy-focused player in the Web3 space.[1][2] Pivotal moments include launching support for seven EVM chains and integrating tools like Hexagate for compliance monitoring, enabling seamless private cross-chain operations.[2]
Hinkal rides the surging demand for privacy in blockchain amid rising regulatory scrutiny and user concerns over on-chain traceability, amplified by DeFi's growth on EVM chains.[2] Its timing aligns with ZK-tech maturation and multi-chain fragmentation, where public ledgers expose users to risks like front-running or doxxing, making private tools essential for mainstream adoption.[2] Market forces favoring Hinkal include Ethereum's dominance, Layer 2 scaling (e.g., Arbitrum, Optimism), and institutional inflows seeking compliant privacy solutions—evidenced by its $5.5M funding from Web3 specialists.[1][2] By enabling discreet interactions across ecosystems, Hinkal influences DeFi and Web3 by setting a standard for secure, interoperable privacy, potentially accelerating enterprise blockchain use.[2][3]
Hinkal is poised to expand its protocol with more ZK features and chain integrations, capitalizing on privacy regs like MiCA and user shifts toward compliant DeFi amid 2025's bull market dynamics.[2] Trends like AI-driven compliance (enhancing Hexagate) and ZK-rollups will shape its path, potentially growing its ecosystem through developer grants or partnerships with its VC backers.[1][2] Its influence may evolve from niche privacy tool to core infrastructure, mirroring how early ZK projects scaled—watch for mainnet upgrades or enterprise pilots to confirm momentum. This Stanford-born protocol exemplifies how privacy tech fortifies blockchain's foundation for mass adoption.
Hinkal has raised $5.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Hinkal's investors include BDC Venture Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Associates, Rough Draft Ventures.