=nil – a Layer-2 on Ethereum using zkSharding for scaling.
The team also developed Proof Market – a decentralized marketplace for zero-knowledge proofs (zkProof), which helps create and monetize these proofs.
Mainnet launch and TGE are planned for Q4 2025
Project founded in 2018
In January 2023, they raised $22 million in funding at a $220 million valuation with participation from Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Mina Protocol, StarkWare
Strong Twitter presence – followed by representatives from IOSG VC, Blockchain Capital, Paradigm, Coinbase, Polychain, a16z, Delphi Digital, as well as Cobie from Echo, Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, and others.
Previously: Senior Software Engineer at cyber•Fund (crypto investment company), Architect and Senior Software Engineer at GolosCore (blockchain platform)
His Twitter is followed by representatives from IOSG VC, Delphi Digital, Galaxy Digital, Paradigm, Polychain, as well as Cobie from Echo, Ivan gbi, and others.
Also founder of P2P Validator, co-founder of cyber•Fund, and one of the early participants in Lido
Previously: Co-founder of Commun.com (social network), CEO and co-founder of Satoshi Fund (investment fund)
Strong followers – followed by representatives from a16z, Coinbase, eGirl Capital, Paradigm, Delphi Digital, Multicoin Capital, Electric Capital, as well as Cobie from Echo, Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana, Stani Kulechov, Solana account, Andre Cronje, and others.
Previously: Venture Investment Manager and Analyst at Delphi Digital, Software Consultant at Pariveda Solutions (technology consulting firm), Venture Lead at Jungle Startup Studio (startup studio), Commodity Futures and Options Specialist at CME Group
Graduated from New York University
His Twitter is followed by representatives from Delphi Digital, Multicoin Capital, Blockchain Capital, Paradigm, Galaxy Digital, IOSG VC, Arrington Capital, as well as Murad, Bryan Pellegrino from LayerZero, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, and others.
Sale registration starts: February 3, 2025, at 13:00 MSK
Russia is banned
FDV unknown – information will be available on February 3
Vesting conditions unknown – information will be available on February 3
Personal cap per user unknown – information will be available on February 3
Competitors
StarkNet by StarkWare (FDV $3.56 billion) – L2 on Ethereum using ZK-rollups to enhance scalability and reduce fees. Uses its own programming language Cairo and STARK technology.
zkSync by Matter Labs (FDV $3.1 billion) – L2 on Ethereum using ZK-rollups. Recently launched zkSync Era with smart contract support.
Scroll (FDV $670 million) – zkEVM solution focused on full compatibility with Ethereum. The main competition with =nil is that Scroll focuses on convenience for EVM developers, while =nil offers zkSharding infrastructure and database work.
Polygon zkEVM (not traded) – ZK solution from Polygon, focused on maximum EVM compatibility.
Aztec Network (not traded) – ZK solution with a focus on privacy. Uses zero-knowledge proofs for confidential transactions.
GitHub Analysis
Once again, we asked AI to share its opinion on GitHub.
Step-by-step analysis of GitHub repositories:
Activity and Regularity of Updates
At the time of viewing, it is clear that the Nil Foundation organization has numerous repositories (50+), including "crypto3", "crypto3-zk", "zkevm-blueprint", "zkllvm", and others.
Many of them contain commits from recent weeks or months (some repositories were updated relatively recently – for example, in the crypto3 or crypto3-zk repositories, regular commits can be seen).
The network of forks and stars also indicates that some projects are in demand and noticed in the cryptographic/blockchain community. This does not look like a case where only one person makes fake commits to create the appearance of "active development".
There are issues and pull requests (PRs), sometimes from different people. Such a distribution of contributors is more typical for real open-source projects.
Code Quality (Structure, Style, Literacy)
Let's take the crypto3-zk repository as an example. Here you can find modules with implementations of cryptographic primitives (for example, various elliptic curves, zero-knowledge proof schemes) and template C++ code for working with them. The directory structure is clearly divided: algebra, marshalling, snark, hash, etc.
Inside the directories, there is quite complex logic that clearly requires an understanding of the corresponding algorithms (for example, implementations of BLS curves, algorithms for SNARK checks, etc.). The code looks quite "alive", not monotonous, and actually reflects the nuances of cryptography (templates, intermediate data structures, macros, etc.).
Modern C++17/20 features are used (template metaprogramming, concepts, SFINAE), not just simple functions and classes. The coding style is generally neat: there is a separation into header and cpp files, different namespaces, comments for many functions and structures, as well as documentation in doxygen-style.
In the README and documentation for some projects (like crypto3), it is explained how to build the library, what dependencies are needed (Boost and others), and basic usage examples are provided. This is a typical sign of serious libraries, not "dummies".
Real Functionality and Depth of Development
According to the description, Nil Foundation projects are focused on high-level solutions in cryptography, blockchain, and proof mechanisms (Zero-Knowledge). For example, "zkevm-blueprint" and "zkllvm" aim to implement virtual machines/compilers with proof support – these are quite complex things that usually require deep specialized knowledge.
Inside the code, there are specific implementations of proofs (for example, schemes like Groth16, PLONK, etc.). All this clearly indicates that the project is not decorative but has specific modules for processing polynomial commitments, generators, and SNARK/Proof System verifiers. Creating something like this "for show" is extremely difficult, as it requires reproducing non-trivial cryptographic details.
There are many tests in the repositories (test/ directories), which is also a sign of a well-developed project. The tests cover elements of cryptographic algorithms, check the correctness of calculations, and hook to different input data.
Repository Composition (Not Just README, but Implementation Details)
The repositories are not limited to simple "stubs" like "Hello World" or long READMEs with grand promises. On the contrary, in each library (especially in crypto3 and crypto3-zk), there is a full-fledged tree of source files, headers, algorithm implementations, examples, tests, build scripts, and CI configuration.
There are repositories like actor-blueprint and blueprint, which indicate the development of "circuit blueprint" schemes – a special approach to building/combining SNARK schemes. The code contains entire fragments of logic for generating circuits, working with signals, gates, etc.
GitHub Actions/Travis CI (in some repositories) and other automated mechanisms can be noticed. This is a sign that developers are monitoring integration tests.
Overall Assessment
Based on the combination of factors (activity of multiple repositories, complexity of the implemented functionality, presence of tests, project structure, real cryptographic depth), it seems that Nil Foundation is a real team specializing in serious tools in the blockchain/cryptography/Zero-Knowledge field.
At a superficial glance or an attempt to replicate such "activity", it would be difficult for scammers to maintain such a detailed codebase, which contains many working modules, tests, and specialized algorithms.
Comments, style, and the overall level of engineering preparation look solid. Although some repositories may be in an early stage or belong to experimental branches (which is natural for R&D companies), a cohesive ecosystem is visible overall.
AI Conclusion: Based on the volume, depth, and regularity of updates, as well as the level of code development (especially in projects related to cryptography, zero-knowledge, and compilers), the project does not look like a fake "showcase". Nil gives the impression of a real team of professional developers and researchers in the field of cryptography. The code is extensive, technically complex, regularly updated, many repositories include tests, and are part of a unified ecosystem of solutions.
Final Thoughts
It seems like another L2 blockchain, but it uses zk technology. And as we can see, there are not many such EVM blockchains.
The project is definitely interesting. We are waiting for the full sale conditions to be published on February 3 to make a decision on participation. The main thing is to be prepared for a long wait until TGE.