Railgun excels at developer integration and programmability because it leverages zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to create a private state layer compatible with any EVM smart contract. For example, its SDK allows protocols like Balancer and Aave to integrate private transactions directly into their dApp frontends, shielding user balances and activity. This focus on composability has helped it secure over $50 million in Total Value Shielded (TVS) and establish a broad ecosystem.
LABS
Comparisons
Railgun vs Typhoon Cash: Privacy Smart Contract Systems
A technical comparison of Railgun's shielded pool architecture and Typhoon Cash's mixer model for programmable privacy on EVM chains, focusing on trade-offs for CTOs and protocol architects.
Chainscore © 2026
introduction
THE ANALYSIS
Introduction: The Battle for EVM Privacy
A technical breakdown of two leading privacy smart contract systems, Railgun and Typhoon Cash, for CTOs evaluating on-chain confidentiality.
Typhoon Cash takes a different approach by prioritizing simplicity and fixed-denomination privacy through a mixer model. This results in a trade-off: users deposit fixed amounts (e.g., 0.1, 1, 10 ETH) into a pool and withdraw to a new address, providing strong anonymity sets but less flexibility. Its use of tornado.cash-inspired, audited smart contracts makes it a straightforward tool for breaking on-chain links, though it lacks Railgun's direct smart contract interoperability.
The key trade-off: If your priority is building privacy-preserving features into a complex DeFi application or game, choose Railgun for its SDK and programmable Private Transactions. If you prioritize a simple, standalone solution for anonymizing asset holdings with a proven cryptographic model, choose Typhoon Cash.
tldr-summary
RAILGUN PROS
TL;DR: Core Differentiators
Key strengths and trade-offs at a glance.
01
Multi-Chain Privacy Standard
Deployed on 7+ major chains (Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, BSC, Avalanche, Optimism, Base). This matters for protocols needing consistent, audited privacy logic across their multi-chain deployments without rebuilding for each ecosystem.
7+
Chains
02
Programmable Privacy (zk-SNARKs)
Enables private DeFi interactions via its Relayer network. Users can privately swap, lend, or provide liquidity (e.g., private Uniswap trades, Aave deposits) without exposing wallet links. This matters for institutional DeFi and compliant privacy where actions, not just holdings, must be shielded.
03
Proven Security & Audits
Zero security breaches since mainnet launch (2021). Contracts audited by top firms (Trail of Bits, zkSecurity). This matters for protocols managing high-value assets where the cost of a privacy leak (funds + reputational) is catastrophic.
0
Breaches
HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Railgun vs Typhoon Cash: Privacy Smart Contract Systems
Direct comparison of key technical metrics and privacy features for smart contract-based privacy solutions.
| Metric / Feature | Railgun | Typhoon Cash |
|---|---|---|
Privacy Model | zk-SNARKs (ZK-Proofs) | CoinJoin (Mixing) |
Smart Contract Native | ||
Supported Chains | Ethereum, Polygon, BSC, Arbitrum | Ethereum, Polygon |
Avg. Transaction Cost (ETH Mainnet) | $15 - $80 | $5 - $30 |
Time to Private Transfer | ~5 min (proof gen.) | < 1 min |
Programmable Privacy (DeFi) | ||
Requires Trusted Setup |
pros-cons-a
PROS AND CONS
Railgun vs Typhoon Cash: Privacy Smart Contract Systems
A data-driven comparison of two leading privacy-focused smart contract systems. Use this to evaluate which aligns with your protocol's security model, target chain, and compliance posture.
01
Railgun's Key Strength: Multi-Chain & EVM-Native
Deployed on 9+ EVM chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon. This provides broad accessibility and allows users to leverage the liquidity and tooling of major L2s. Its smart contract system uses zk-SNARKs for private balances and transfers, integrating directly with DeFi protocols like Uniswap and Balancer for private swaps. This matters for projects requiring privacy across a multi-chain ecosystem.
02
Railgun's Key Strength: Programmable Privacy & Compliance
Features a Permissioned Proof System allowing entities (e.g., DAOs, institutions) to run their own relayers and set compliance rules. The Railgun SDK enables developers to build private dApps. This matters for institutions or protocols that need to enforce regulatory checks (like OFAC screening) while maintaining user privacy on-chain, a unique trade-off in the privacy space.
03
Typhoon Cash's Key Strength: Original ZK-Mixer Simplicity
A pioneer in the ZK-SNARK-based mixer model on Ethereum, offering a simple, audited smart contract for breaking on-chain links. It uses a fixed-denomination note system (e.g., 1 ETH, 10 ETH) for uniform anonymity sets. This matters for users seeking a trustless, single-use privacy solution with a proven track record and no reliance on a central relayer for core mixing logic.
04
Typhoon Cash's Key Strength: Large, Shared Anonymity Sets
By using fixed denominations, all users of a specific pool (e.g., the 1 ETH pool) share one large, combined anonymity set. This contrasts with systems using private notes tied to individual users. This design maximizes privacy for straightforward deposit/withdraw actions and matters for achieving strong statistical anonymity for standard transaction amounts.
05
Railgun's Trade-off: Relayer Dependency & Fee Complexity
Requires a relayer to submit private transactions, adding a layer of service dependency and potential censorship points (though anyone can run one). Users pay two fees: network gas (paid by relayer) and a relayer fee. This matters for projects prioritizing absolute minimization of trust assumptions or for users in regions where relayers may be unavailable.
06
Typhoon Cash's Trade-off: Limited Functionality & UX Friction
Single-purpose design focused on mixing, lacking programmable privacy or direct DeFi integration. Users must manually handle multiple denominations for complex amounts, creating UX friction. The protocol has seen reduced activity and development compared to newer systems, which matters for teams seeking an actively maintained codebase with expanding features.
pros-cons-b
RAILGUN VS TYPHOON CASH
Typhoon Cash: Pros and Cons
Key strengths and trade-offs for two leading privacy smart contract systems at a glance.
01
Railgun: Multi-Chain & Programmable Privacy
Deployed on 8+ chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon. Its Privacy SDK allows developers to integrate private transactions directly into dApps (e.g., private swaps, lending). This matters for protocols needing composable privacy across a DeFi stack.
8+
Chains
$1B+
Historical Volume
02
Railgun: Enhanced Security Model
Uses a zk-SNARK-based relayer system where users can submit private transactions without running their own node. Features Viewing Keys for auditability and compliance. This matters for institutions or DAOs requiring regulatory-friendly privacy with optional transparency.
03
Typhoon Cash: Minimalist & Cost-Effective
Native to Avalanche C-Chain with a simple deposit/mix/withdraw interface. Lower gas fees due to Avalanche's architecture. This matters for users seeking straightforward, low-cost privacy for AVAX and major ERC-20 tokens without cross-chain complexity.
< $0.10
Avg. Tx Cost
04
Typhoon Cash: Trusted Setup & Centralization Risk
Relies on a small committee for its trusted setup and a centralized relayer to process transactions, creating a potential single point of failure/censorship. This is a trade-off for teams prioritizing simplicity and speed of deployment over progressive decentralization.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY
When to Choose: User Scenarios
Railgun for DeFi
Verdict: The established standard for private DeFi operations on Ethereum and EVM chains. Strengths: High TVL and deep integration with major protocols like Uniswap, Lido, and Balancer via its SDK. The Railgun Smart Wallet acts as a universal privacy layer, enabling private swaps, staking, and lending. Its zk-SNARK proofs provide strong cryptographic privacy, and its Relayer network abstracts gas fees for a smooth UX. Ideal for building privacy-preserving front-ends for existing DeFi. Considerations: Requires integration work; privacy pool size (TVL) is critical for anonymity.
Typhoon Cash for DeFi
Verdict: A simpler, fixed-denomination mixer, less suited for complex DeFi composability. Strengths: Extremely low fees and a straightforward, audited contract. Good for obfuscating the origin of specific token amounts (e.g., 1 ETH, 10 ETH) before entering a public DeFi protocol. Considerations: Lacks direct DeFi integrations. Users must withdraw to a clean address before interacting with other dApps, breaking composability. Fixed denominations limit flexibility for complex transactions.
PRIVACY PROTOCOL COMPARISON
Technical Deep Dive: Architecture and Security
A technical breakdown of the core architectural and security models of Railgun and Typhoon Cash, two leading privacy smart contract systems. This analysis focuses on their underlying mechanisms, trust assumptions, and security guarantees.
Railgun and Typhoon Cash have fundamentally different security models, making a direct comparison complex. Railgun's security is anchored in zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs), providing cryptographic privacy with no trusted setup for its main proving system. Typhoon Cash, on the other hand, relies on a Tornado Cash-forked architecture using trusted setup ceremonies and a Merkle tree-based mixer. Railgun's model offers stronger cryptographic guarantees for privacy, while Typhoon's security is contingent on the integrity of its trusted setup and the anonymity set size of its pools.
verdict
THE ANALYSIS
Final Verdict and Decision Framework
A data-driven breakdown to guide your choice between two leading privacy smart contract systems.
Railgun excels at composability and DeFi integration because it's built as a smart contract system on existing L1s and L2s like Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon. This allows private assets to interact directly with protocols like Uniswap, Aave, and Curve through its Privacy SDK. For example, its $30M+ Total Value Locked (TVL) demonstrates significant user adoption for private yield farming and trading, a core use case its architecture enables.
Typhoon Cash takes a different approach by prioritizing simplicity and lower fixed costs through a standalone, deposit-mix-withdraw model on multiple chains. This results in a trade-off of reduced functionality for enhanced accessibility. Its fixed 0.1% fee per transaction is predictable, but its architecture isn't designed for the complex, multi-step private interactions that Railgun's smart contracts facilitate, limiting its use primarily to basic value transfer.
The key architectural divergence is Railgun's use of zero-knowledge proofs for private state (zk-SNARKs via the 0xZK circuit) versus Typhoon's use of CoinJoin-style mixing. Railgun's method enables programmable privacy, while Typhoon's offers straightforward, trustless obfuscation. This fundamentally shapes their supported applications.
The final trade-off is clear: If your priority is building applications requiring private smart contract logic—such as private DAO voting, shielded lending, or confidential NFTs—choose Railgun. Its SDK and integration with the broader EVM ecosystem are decisive. If you prioritize simple, low-cost, cross-chain private transfers with no need for DeFi composability, Typhoon Cash is the more streamlined, cost-effective solution.
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$20M+
TVL Overall