DeFa launched its private mainnet on Starknet on June 24, 2026, opening the network’s first DeFi protocol where transactions are shielded by default rather than on request. The protocol is built on STRK20, Starknet’s native privacy extension for ERC-20 tokens, which the network opened to any ERC-20 token in June after the v0.14.2 mainnet upgrade introduced the underlying privacy architecture in April.
What DeFa does
DeFa offers confidential stablecoin liquidity pools, verified receivables, and cashflow infrastructure. Balances are hidden unless a user actively opts out of privacy, reversing the usual model for privacy add-ons. The launch announcement describes the system as “confidential by default, disclosable when required.”
Why STRK20 is different
STRK20 encrypts balances and transfer data at the token standard level, not through a separate mixing contract or dedicated privacy chain. The shielding is embedded in how an ERC-20 token behaves on Starknet itself, which uses STARK proofs as its base layer. Each private transaction costs 4 STRK, according to Starknet’s private DeFi documentation.
How compliance works
Compliance depends on viewing keys. A designated third-party audit firm holds a key that can trace a specific user’s transaction history in response to a valid legal request, without exposing other users’ data, according to Starknet’s protocol description. That selective-disclosure mechanism is what separates DeFa from a mixing service architecturally and legally.
Starknet TVL has not moved on DeFa yet
Starknet’s total value locked was $175,686,748 on June 27, per DefiLlama, versus $177,796,818 on DeFa’s June 24 launch day. The roughly 1% change is within normal daily variance. No movement attributable to DeFa is visible in the data yet.