The upcoming Common app serves four functions. It gets you a unified privacy account for all chains. It ensures you have the highest sustainable yield across all of EVM. It enables trading. And then—it allows you to seamlessly use your crypto in the real world via Apple Pay and Google Pay. Powered by Aleph Zero’s zkOS. 

Common provides users with a user-friendly interface akin to neobanks, but at the same time — unlike the neobanks — distributes 100% of the fees back to the token holders! Moreover, Common leads with privacy and brings a critical additional layer of omnichain privacy through Aleph Zero’s zkOS, with AZERO used as gas fees for all shielded transactions across the EVM space

In this post, we will take you through all the key features of Common 2.0 and how it is leading the future of privacy-enhanced crypto adoption.

The on-chain alternative to neobanks

Common allows you to:

• Privately use any dapp, on any blockchain; 
• Get the best EVM yield, with real-time allocation optimization;
• Trade your assets, privately and publicly;
• Pay for real-world expenses with debit cards
• Receive your share of 100% fee distribution;
• Quickly on and off-ramp your assets.

Common is powered by two tokens:

1) AZERO: no matter which EVM chain, all traffic flows through the Aleph Zero network and requires AZERO for gas fees. The fees can be abstracted away for user convenience.

2) CMN: platform’s governance token that distributes 100% of the protocol revenue to its holders, similarly to dYdX’s model.

First-ever omnichain privacy pool

Privacy through an innovative omnichain design

On Common App, all assets can be stored in omnichain shielded pools that enable users to make their assets private in just a few clicks. Thanks to Aleph Zero’s zkOS, these actions are just as fast as if they were public, while they never leave user devices unencrypted. The transaction history and ownership details are kept private by default as long as you’re in the shielded pool. 

Additionally, Common and Aleph Zero offer seamless privacy to all the chains that support the EIP-7683 standard proposed by Uniswap and Across.

Omnichain shielded pools where assets are private and protected by default

Best stable yield in EVM, period.

Common auto-optimizes your positions to ensure you get the best sustainable yield, always

Users can earn rewards on their shielded assets in Common App while maintaining full privacy. Even when assets are secured in shielded pools, users can still participate in staking, yield farming, or other DeFi earning mechanisms to generate rewards. With our smart routing feature, you’ll always get the best possible yield from existing lending protocols in the Ethereum ecosystem like Aave and Compound – and your assets are allocated automatically. 

Earning opportunities on shielded assets

Use it wherever you want

Seamless integrations with EVM apps

With Common App, temporary accounts operating in the background enable smooth interaction with third-party EVM-based applications. These accounts utilize built-in bridges – so you don’t have to compromise your privacy or security. You can use any EVM app while maintaining your privacy, conveniently, and with just a few clicks. It’s your crypto privacy layer.

Seamless integration with any EVM app

Convenient, quick, and accessible

Fiat-to-crypto on and off-ramps and card payments

With Common App’s fiat-to-crypto on and off-ramps, users can seamlessly move between fiat and crypto. Protected entry and exit into the crypto world is as easy as a few clicks. Thanks to our integration with Harbour, on and off-ramping using bank account transfers and payment cards from any SEPA account is simple and painless. Plus, through our partnership with Holyheld, Common App will also enable you to easily spend your crypto in real life and get cashback rewards.

Fiat-to-crypto on and off-ramps and card payments

You’re in full control

Non-custodial, composable privacy

As a user, you decide who has access to your data – with complete control over the visibility of your financial activities. You can choose to keep transactions entirely private or selectively share your data with trusted entities.

Full control over privacy

CMN: 100% of fees distributed to stakers

Common’s utility token

CMN is the token that powers Common App and is a vital part of the protocol. Let’s break the utility down.

Smart yield strategy and position governance

CMN’s economy is built around two concepts: strategies and positions.

1. Strategies determine how liquidity is allocated across positions, aiming to maximize APY within set thresholds based on market conditions;
2. Positions are specific pools or opportunities, like a Compound pool, for example.

Each month, there will be votes on proposed positions. Staking is required to propose a new position. A community vote then follows:

• Voting will address the question of: “What maximum percentage of Common TVL should be assigned to this position?”
• If voting reaches a 5% quorum, the position is whitelisted – with the threshold set as the median percentage. A 0% threshold means the position isn’t whitelisted;
• The team will integrate approved positions as soon as possible.

Strategies, on the other hand, determine how to allocate liquidity across various accepted positions within their respective maximum thresholds.

For example, one strategy might be: “Create a balanced portfolio where no position holds more than 20% and only medium-risk positions are included.” Another strategy could be: “Maximize APY while ensuring no more than 10% of liquidity is allocated to any single position, regardless of risk rating.” Each user is free to choose their own strategy, tailoring it to their individual goals and preferences, or selecting one proposed by other users.

Staking rewards

CMN holders can stake their tokens to receive additional rewards. The rewards come from the yield generated by users who contribute to smart yield pools.

With Common App, yield is distributed between users who provide TVL and CMN stakers. For users entering from the private pool, we are looking at 85% of yield coming back to them, and 15% being distributed to CMN stakers for their service in managing the protocol. With this design, we want to incentivize users to utilize shielded accounts. This means that for users who enter from public accounts, the distribution will be skewed more towards CMN stakers.

More information about CMN will be shared in the following weeks!

En route to Common App

Roadmap

Common App will be released in stages to address the most pressing market needs and gradually provide more advanced features. Among the available platforms, you’ll find a native mobile app for Android and iOS, Side Panel Extension for Chrome-based browsers, and the existing web app.

In Q1 2025, support for Aleph Zero EVM (L2) will arrive, along with advanced privacy features (including ZK-proof times in as little as 0.27s on newer iPhones). Once this is completed, we’ll be rolling out a host of additional features over the following months:

• Holyheld (cards) and Harbour (fiat on/off ramp);
• Reusable KYC via idOS: Basic features will not require KYC; however, idOS KYC verification will be required for advanced payment features;
• Improving omnichain UX – enabling users to create temporary accounts on the fly and one-click integrations of major protocols in the app (starting from our own yield optimization);
• And a whole lot more …

It is also important to highlight that the Sidepanel initial release will already showcase privacy working on the Aleph Zero EVM Mainnet. The initial release will feature transaction limits in the Mainnet Beta phase (to ensure the platform’s security), which we intend to remove in Q1 2025 after additional audits. Meanwhile, subsequent releases will focus on adding interchain and temporary account support. 

Additionally, we are currently working on the omnichain yield optimizer. You can expect a first Mainnet version in Q1 2025, with additional features coming over the following months.

One app to rule them all—your ultimate crypto privacy layer

Coming Q1 2025

Common App is designed to be your main crypto app. Its comprehensive UX enables you to rapidly on and off-ramp your assets, hold them, and trade and earn rewards on them – all while maintaining complete privacy. There’s also a wide array of unique, privacy-enhanced trading features. 

This is your one private account that goes far beyond the capabilities of standard (and even advanced) crypto wallets. You’re free to invest in different projects without the need for sending your assets to exchanges to break the trace of activity. You can also send assets to anyone without disclosing how much is in your Common App account. 

Additionally, with the launch of Aleph Zero EVM, all your EVM assets can also be integrated. Instead of having privacy pools deployed on individual chains, you can utilize Common App’s universal privacy pools for the entire EVM world. Essentially, Common App is pure convenience that adheres to privacy principles as a human right.

One app to rule them all—with complete privacy and convenience

Common App aims to deliver all the convenience of modern banking – but through a UX that starts with enhanced, universal privacy. The Shielding Demo is already live on Testnet – experience the speed and privacy of Common today!