Grvt (pronounced «gravity»), a decentralized exchange (DEX) focused on privacy in on-chain finance, has raised $19 million in Series A funding.

The round was co-led by ZKsync, its foundational technology partner, along with Further Ventures, EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer) and 500 Global, the company announced via email on Thursday.

Built on the ZKsync Validium L2, Grvt uses zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to ensure transactions inherit Ethereum-level security while keeping trade details private and settlement costs low. The company says this architecture addresses long-standing barriers to mainstream adoption of on-chain finance: privacy, scalability and accessibility.

ZK technology is a cryptographic method in which one party can demonstrate to another that a certain piece of information is true, without revealing anything about said information. This is an important facet of blockchain-based finance as it allows users to verify transactions and transfers without revealing anything about the sender, receiver, amount.

“Privacy is uncompromising for the future of on-chain trading and investing,” said co-founder and CEO Hong Yea, adding that Grvt aims to set the standard for how zero-knowledge cryptography powers financial markets.

The raise comes amid a resurgence in Ethereum activity, with August’s on-chain volume topping $320 billion, its highest since mid-2021. Backers see Grvt as a potential liquidity hub for a trillion-dollar on-chain finance market, with applications spanning cross-exchange vaults, cross-chain interoperability, real-world assets, and structured options, according to the announcement.