Is it worth participating in Zama?

Statement: This article is not extensive, purely researching the potential and development expectations of this project. Those who do not want to see the analysis can directly look at the summary at the end.

1️⃣ Project Positioning

A privacy protocol layer built using FHE + MPC + ZK combinations. It allows for transaction verification without fully disclosing all information about the transactions. Essentially, it is an FHE infrastructure.

2️⃣ Project Background

Currently, a total of two funding rounds have been completed, with the main core investors being the leading investors Multicoin Capital, Protocol Labs, Pantera Capital, and Blockchange. Angel investors include Polkadot founder, former Ethereum CTO Gavin Wood, and Solana co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko, among others.

3️⃣ Team Background

Here, GPT will supplement the value of the following two experiences in the field of cryptography.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 is the international standardization subcommittee for information security, cybersecurity, and privacy protection. Being able to serve as an Editor or Co-Editor indicates that one not only participates in discussions but also has the authority to draft, modify, and even decide on the content of standards, which is a highly core role; at the same time, France is one of the main participating countries in the formulation of international standards, and as a cryptography expert of the French delegation, having served for more than 15 years, indicates recognition as an authoritative technical expert at the national level.

➣ Marc Joye, Chief Scientist at Zama. He has a background in mathematics and previously worked as a researcher at UCL Crypto Group. From his published papers and books, it is evident that he has been conducting research in cryptography, having successfully attacked version 1.5 of RSA (you can look up the RSA cryptographic compilation standards). However, his professional experience is rarely directly linked to cryptography, giving a sense of working while researching, and there is no separate page for him on Wikipedia/Baidu Encyclopedia.

➣ The experiences of the other members are mostly in traditional industries, with almost no Crypto Native experience.

4️⃣ Financing Background

A total of two rounds of financing were completed, with the project being initiated in 2019, but both rounds of financing were completed in this cycle.

First round of financing 73 million USD, second round 1B valuation financing 57 million USD, which is a financing of 5.7%. Among them, Blockchange invested in both rounds.

This valuation is very high given the current market environment, and FHE, like the Boundless analysis I wrote earlier, belongs to the necessary but unprofitable infrastructure sector alongside ZK. This can be seen from the financing lineup, which is a project that leading institutions in Europe and the United States would consider as "value investment."

5️⃣ Participation Method

The official launch of the first phase of the testnet on the 7.1 is currently not clearly stating the participation method. However, it is highly likely that it will still follow the node operation approach.

6️⃣ Overall Evaluation

The practical value of this project far exceeds its speculative value, and it is a solid FHE infrastructure protocol.

The FHE track is more of a toB track, with a weaker experience for individual investors. The biggest problem with the FHE track is that it is not profitable; although the demand for ZK in this track is necessary, there are few sources of profit, and most of it is maintained through toB collaborations.

From the perspective of investment background, the project is primarily backed by leading institutions in Europe and America, which typically have a branch dedicated to investing in infrastructure projects, not primarily for profit. On one hand, it serves as a long-term value investment; on the other hand, the valuation of the infrastructure sector is generally high, allowing for more funding by pushing up infrastructure valuations, while also increasing the industry's market dream rate.

From the perspective of the team's background, Zama is not really considered a legitimate Crypto product. None of the members have native industry experience, and the project, which started in 2019, only began fundraising in 2024, which already presents a contradiction. Personally, I speculate that they are likely trying to cash out.

The chief scientist mentioned earlier has no publication, and it should be noted that the salary of a cryptography expert is quite substantial, with weekly or even daily wages being able to match the monthly salary of other industries. Moreover, the more specialized they are, the more likely they will be included in relevant encyclopedias.