How to Use Veilnet

Getting Started

1. Connect wallet: Use your preferred EVM wallet
2. Select network: Choose Base or Ethereum
3. Open Veilnet app: Navigate to the dashboard
4. Understand public wallet vs private balance: Your public wallet shows your standard holdings. Your Veilnet dashboard shows your shielded balances

Shielding Funds

Follow these steps to deposit funds into your Veilnet vault:

1. Choose asset/network: Select ETH or an ERC-20 token
2. Deposit into Veilnet: Enter the amount and approve the transaction
3. Commitment preparation: The system generates your private commitment
4. Confirm transaction: Sign the deposit on-chain
5. View shielded balance: Once confirmed, your Veilnet dashboard will update

Sending Privately

Securely transfer funds to another user privately:

1. Enter recipient: Input the recipient's Veilnet Shielded Address
2. Select shielded balance: Choose the asset to send
3. Generate encrypted transfer: The frontend prepares the secure payload
4. Submit transaction: Sign the shielded intent (Zero gas fees!)
5. Recipient discovery flow: The recipient's dashboard automatically updates via the sequencer network

Withdrawing Funds

Convert your shielded balance back to your wallet:

1. Select amount: Choose how much to unshield
2. Choose destination wallet: You can withdraw to a fresh wallet to maintain privacy
3. Generate withdrawal: The system creates the Merkle proof
4. Submit transaction: The Veilnet relayer network submits the transaction to the blockchain
5. Privacy warnings: Be aware of timing heuristics. Do not withdraw immediately after depositing

Private Bridging

Move assets across chains while maintaining privacy:

1. Select source chain: e.g., Ethereum
2. Select destination chain: e.g., Base
3. Shield funds: Deposit into Veilnet Ethereum
4. Bridge through Veilnet flow: Initiate a cross-chain transfer via the Veilnet dashboard
5. Claim privately on destination: Your balance becomes available on Veilnet Base

Best Practices

Wallet Hygiene

Always withdraw to fresh, unlinked wallets. Reusing the same withdrawal address defeats privacy.

Timing Considerations

Wait at least a few hours between depositing and withdrawing. Immediate withdrawal after deposit can leak timing information.

Address Reuse

Avoid reusing public withdrawal addresses across different deposits. Each withdrawal should come from a separate address.

Amount Obfuscation

Be mindful of exact amounts. Withdrawing exactly 13.37 ETH shortly after depositing 13.37 ETH is easily correlated. Mix amounts and timing to improve privacy.

Network-Level Privacy

For maximum privacy, consider using a VPN or Tor to obscure your IP address when accessing the Veilnet dApp.