Co-founder of StarkWare launches a "shocking" DeFi project: beta tester registration is open
Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare, has officially announced the recruitment of beta testers for a new, in his own words, "shocking" DeFi project deploying on the Starknet network. Applications are being accepted via direct messages, and interest in the initiative has been immense — Ben-Sasson has already noted that he has received an "incredible number" of responses.
At this point, details about the project itself remain confidential. The developer limited himself to a standard warning: this is not an investment recommendation, and each participant should conduct their own research. Nevertheless, the mere fact of an announcement from a figure of this magnitude has already sparked a strong reaction in the crypto community.
Who is Eli Ben-Sasson and why is he being watched?
Eli Ben-Sasson is not just a CEO, but a cryptographer scientist and professor whose contribution to the industry is hard to overestimate. He is one of the creators of Zcash — the first major private cryptocurrency built on zero-knowledge proofs. Additionally, Ben-Sasson is a co-author of the ZK-STARK proof system, which underpins Starknet and revolutionized blockchain scaling technology.
As one user rightly noted, Ben-Sasson "essentially developed the mathematics that make ZK-rollups possible." It took the industry about five years to "catch up with this idea." Therefore, his personal involvement in a new DeFi project is a signal of the highest level that cannot be ignored.
What is known about the project?
Specifics are lacking. The only clue is the definition "shocking," which Ben-Sasson used in the announcement. After a wave of applications, he redirected interested parties to a user with the handle 0xVegabond, without revealing additional details.
The announcement itself is more indicative of the author's status than of known facts about the product. Given Ben-Sasson's role in the development of zero-knowledge technologies, his new project on Starknet is attracting heightened attention even before its essence is revealed.
Cryptalist analytical commentary: In a world where every second project promises a "revolution," statements from the creator of ZK-STARK carry a completely different weight. If Ben-Sasson is personally involved in developing a DeFi product, this could be an attempt to solve the fundamental problems of scalability and privacy that still hinder the mass adoption of decentralized finance. Stay tuned for updates — this case could become one of the most significant in 2025.