Spicy Projects #17: Secret Network

What is Secret Network?

Launched in 2020, Secret Network is the first Layer 1 blockchain built entirely around privacy-preserving smart contracts. Unlike typical public chains, Secret encrypts the full stack: input, output, state — everything.

Powered by Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Secret smart contracts are private by default yet still fully auditable when needed. The result? A chain where your app logic is confidential, your data isn’t public, and your compliance box can still be checked.

Built on the Cosmos SDK, Secret is IBC-enabled, giving it instant interoperability with all Cosmos chains. And it doesn’t stop there - Secret’s Confidential Computing Layer has now integrated with 30+ EVM chains, including Ethereum, Layer 2s, and even Solana.

This isn’t siloed privacy - this is cross-chain confidential computing at scale.

The Confidential Computing Layer

Secret’s Confidential Computing Layer is designed to plug directly into other chains - letting developers build privacy-first dApps on their existing stack. This means:

• Deploy confidential services on your favorite EVM or Cosmos chain

• Use Secret’s encryption layer without leaving your home ecosystem

• Keep user data, business logic, and AI models truly private

If you’re building on Ethereum, Base, or Solana you can now do it privately. That’s the promise of the Confidential Computing Layer.

SecretVM: Any App, Confidential by Default

The newly launched SecretVM takes privacy even further. It lets you deploy confidential, verifiable virtual machines using containerized workloads so anything from Web2 or Web3 can be made private and cryptographically attestable.

If it runs in a container, it can now run in secret.

This opens the door for confidential finance, verifiable AI services, privacy-safe DeFi, DAO tooling, and more - all running on hardware-backed secure enclaves.

SecretAI: Privacy-First Intelligence

SecretAI is where AI meets encryption. The SecretAI SDK gives developers access to GPU-based TEEs and all the tools they need to deploy privacy-preserving AI apps with cryptographic verifiability.

With SecretAI, developers can:

• Run LLMs and AI agents inside trusted environments

• Protect sensitive input/output data

• Generate attestations for AI decision-making

• Keep models and user queries private

Forget black-box AI. SecretAI brings verifiable, confidential intelligence to Web3.

Why Secret Matters

Public blockchains weren’t designed for sensitive data - Secret fixes that. With encrypted smart contracts, cross-chain support, and modular confidential infrastructure, Secret is pushing Web3 toward Decentralized Confidential Computing (DeCC) - a term they’re not just coining, but building.

Use cases? Think:

• Private DeFi with fully encrypted logic

• AI agents that don’t leak user data

• Confidential DAOs with selective disclosure

• Enterprise and government apps with real compliance paths

Secret Network isn’t just another privacy chain. It’s the privacy layer for all chains.

What’s Next?

• Continued rollout of SecretVM across supported platforms

• SecretAI expansion into enterprise and AI-native apps

• Ongoing integration with more L1s, L2s, and toolkits

• Further performance tuning for GPU workloads and TEE ops

Confidential computing is no longer theory. It’s production-ready and shipping now.

Fun Fact

Secret’s privacy tech isn’t just advanced — it’s real-world tested. In 2024 alone, Secret integrated its Confidential Computing Layer with over 30 chains, proving that privacy can be powerful and interoperable.

Secret Network is where privacy becomes a feature, not a compromise. From AI to DeFi, from Cosmos to Ethereum, Secret brings full-chain encryption, containerized trust, and modular deployment to the entire Web3 stack.