Co-founder of StarkWare teases a "shocking" DeFi project: what is known
Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare, announced a search for beta testers for a new DeFi project on Starknet, which he described as "shocking." Applications are being accepted via direct messages, and community interest has been enormous — according to Ben-Sasson, the number of responses has been "incredibly high."
Details of the project remain shrouded in mystery. In his announcement, Ben-Sasson simply invited interested parties to message him directly, and later thanked the community for the overwhelming number of responses, noting that applications came in "incredibly high." The announcement itself came with the standard disclaimer: it is not an investment recommendation, and everyone should conduct their own research.
Who is Eli Ben-Sasson?
Eli Ben-Sasson is not a marketer but a scientist and professor of cryptography. He is a co-founder of StarkWare, the company behind the creation of the Starknet network. His contribution to the industry is hard to overstate: he was involved in creating Zcash, the first major private cryptocurrency built on zero-knowledge proofs. The project launched in 2016, and according to user mztacat's estimates, it took the rest of the industry about five years to "catch up with this idea."
Additionally, Ben-Sasson co-invented the ZK-STARK proof system, which underpins Starknet and has influenced the entire field of zero-knowledge technologies. As mztacat emphasized, this is not about participation or contribution — Ben-Sasson "essentially developed the mathematics that makes ZK-rollups possible" (blockchain scaling solutions).
What is known about the new project?
There are no specifics about the new project at this point. Ben-Sasson is only accepting direct messages from potential beta testers, and the functionality or purpose of the service can only be inferred from his own description of it as "shocking."
After the wave of responses, Ben-Sasson stated that those who want to check if there are still spots for testers should message the user with the handle 0xVegabond. This redirected the flow of applications without revealing additional details about the project.
The announcement is more notable for the author's status than for any known facts about the product. Given Ben-Sasson's role in the development of zero-knowledge technologies, his new project on Starknet has attracted heightened community attention even before its essence has been revealed.
My analysis: The fact that Ben-Sasson, rather than a marketing team, is personally handling the search for testers indicates a high level of involvement and, likely, fundamental novelty of the product. If the project is truly "shocking," it could become one of the key catalysts for the Starknet ecosystem. However, complete secrecy always carries a double risk: high potential is accompanied by high uncertainty. I recommend following developments but refraining from hasty investment decisions.