I am not a developer or a member of the team; the topic was started for the purpose of familiarizing with the project.WORM: Private ETH Burning for Creating a Scarce Token – The Future of Privacy in Crypto!
Hi, friends! I want to tell you about a cool project called WORM, which combines privacy, scarcity, and real value based on burning Ethereum (ETH). If you're a newbie in crypto and don't understand complex techniques like zk-SNARKs or EIP-7503, don't worry – I'll explain everything in simple language, step by step. This project can interest both traders and those who value anonymity in the blockchain world. Let's figure out what it is, how it works, and why it's worth paying attention.
What is WORM and why is it needed?
Imagine: you want to create a valuable token, but not just like that, but based on real "sacrifice" – burning ETH. Burning means that ETH is forever removed from circulation, becoming inaccessible. But in the usual case, it's visible to everyone: who burned it, how much, and from where. WORM changes the rules of the game! This is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, born from private ETH burning. No one will know that it was you who did it – complete anonymity.
The project is based on the idea of "Zero-Knowledge Wormholes" (zero-knowledge "wormholes"), where you "fall" into a private tunnel: burn ETH unnoticed and get a new, scarce asset. This is not just a coin – it's a way to turn lost ETH into something useful, with strict emission limits so that the price grows from scarcity. Ideal for those tired of inflationary tokens and wanting something reliable, like Bitcoin, but with privacy.
How does it work? Simple guide for beginners
Everything is built on two tokens: BETH and WORM. Let's break down the process step by step, as if you're trying it yourself:
1. **Private ETH Burning**: You send your ETH to a special "unspendable" address – it's like a black hole from which nothing returns. But thanks to the magic of zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs – this is a cryptographic thing that proves a fact without revealing details), no one sees that it was you. It's like sending money to the wrong address "by accident", but actually you control the process. For 1 burned ETH, you get 1 BETH – a private "receipt" of burning.
2. **Minting WORM**: BETH is your lottery ticket. The project divides time into "epochs" (every 30 minutes). In each epoch, exactly 50 WORM are released – no more! These 50 are distributed among all who have BETH, proportionally to their amount. The more BETH you have (i.e., the more ETH you burned), the more WORM you'll get. But if there are many participants in the epoch, your share decreases – this adds strategy: when is it better to enter?
3. **Privacy at Maximum**: Everything is anonymous thanks to zk-SNARKs. No one will link your burned ETH to the new WORM. This is better than mixers like Tornado Cash, because here there are no visible traces of participation in the protocol. Plus, anonymity grows with each new burning – all "lost" ETH on Ethereum become part of the common pool.
In the end, WORM is a scarce asset whose value grows from real ETH burning. No inflation, no halvings – only a strict limit and competition for share.
Why is it interesting and useful?
- **For beginners**: Easy to understand – burn ETH, get a private token that you can trade or use in DeFi. No need for complex wallets or VPN.
- **Privacy**: Ideal for anonymous payments, grants, or donations. Imagine: you donate to charity, but no one knows the source.
- **Scarcity and Growth**: With fixed issuance (50 WORM/epoch), the token becomes rare like gold. Already on testnet, 50 sETH burned and 8000 WORM issued – imagine what will happen on mainnet!
- **Usage**: WORM can be used as collateral in DeFi, speculated on exchanges, or even integrated into games/apps. Plus, the project plans to expand to L2 and rollups for cheap transactions.
- **Security**: Everything on Ethereum smart contracts, with open code. No risk that developers will steal your funds – burning is irreversible but provable.
There are downsides: if implementation goes wrong, there may be risks (like with any new EIP), but the team focuses on security. In discussions on Ethereum Magicians, it was mentioned that this can bypass some regulations, but for users, it's a plus – more freedom.
Team and roadmap
Behind the project are Keyvan Kambakhsh (protocol architect (
https://github.com/keyvank)) and Shahriar Ebrahimi (cryptography expert (
https://github.com/lovely-necromancer)). They have already deployed the Lindwurm testnet on Sepolia – and it works! Participate: need a machine with 16GB RAM, Ubuntu/Debian, and 1 sETH. Instructions on GitHub.
Roadmap:
- Already done: zk-circuits, contracts, testnet.
- In progress: Integration with DEX and oracles.
- Future: Expansion to L2, DeFi apps, DAO and treasury distribution.
How to join?
- Website: (
https://worm.cx/)
- GitHub: (
https://github.com/worm-privacy)
- Telegram: (
https://t.me/WormPrivacy)
- Discord: (
https://discord.gg/Z9TjZhm6qQ)
- EIP-7503: (
https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-7503-zero-knowledge-wormholes-private-proof-of-burn-ppob/15456)
Testnet is incentivized – participate and get allocation of real WORM in the future! If you burn ETH collectively, chances for greater reward increase.
(the first phase is completed, but there will be several more phases of the test network ahead), (the test network runs on ETH Sepolia)
What do you think? Let's discuss – the project looks promising for private crypto. 🚀