Large investors in the cryptocurrency market cannot act as easily as in traditional markets in keeping their trading volumes and strategies secret. High-volume transactions in stocks and similar traditional assets have been possible on over-the-counter platforms for years, thanks to special trading environments called “dark pools”.
More than half of total transactions in U.S. stocks at the beginning of 2025 took place outside of public exchanges. In the crypto field, all transactions and orders in the market can be monitored by everyone due to the blockchain structure, and various analysis platforms present this data to users.
The need for privacy and current challenges
Although transparency in the crypto market coincides with the principle of decentralization, it creates a significant problem for large investors. While high-volume traders want to take positions without having an impact on the market, this is not possible due to the open data structure. Thus, the moves of the investor preparing for the transaction are often noticed immediately in the market.
This openness leads to rapid copying of strategies, especially for liquidity providers. Denis Dariotis, co-founder of GoQuant, hyperliquid He states that large market makers operating on the market have to renew their trading strategies every three weeks.
Denis Dariotis, founder of GoQuant, stated that market makers trading on Hyperliquid had to change their strategies every three weeks, and the main reason for this was that their competitors quickly copied these strategies.
The fact that all the movements of market makers are public puts great pressure on the sector. Especially the recent allegations regarding Jane Street’s role in the Terra/Luna collapse have revealed that major liquidity providers are quite visible in the crypto market. Transactions that are considered ordinary in traditional markets can turn into a crisis in the public eye due to blockchain transparency.
GoDark: The next generation privacy platform in crypto
GoQuant is launching its new decentralized exchange project called GoDark, which aims to keep transaction details secret from everyone, on the Solana blockchain in May. By using zero-knowledge proofs, GoDark aims to keep the details of the transactions confidential not only from other investors but even from the node operators in the network.
The aim of the system is that no one can see what is paired with whom. However, for a new platform to be successful, it will need to achieve sufficient transaction volume. To ensure initial liquidity, GoDark follows the model implemented in Hyperliquid’s HLP vault: Users deposit assets, which are used for market making, while investors are offered both a share of transaction fees and initial access to liquidation opportunities.
At Hyperliquid, this incentive model delivered strong volume in the early stages. However, in other decentralized exchanges that set out with a similar strategy, it is seen that the transaction volume decreased rapidly after the incentive period.
On the other hand, the area of regulatory uncertainty remains on the agenda. Although traditional “dark pool” platforms keep transactions secret in advance, they subsequently report to authorized institutions and operate under legal supervision. It is not yet clear whether there will be a similar framework in the crypto world.
The GoDark project differs from GoQuant’s existing spot DEX product developed for institutional customers. While the corporate DEX platform appeals to a different customer base, GoDark, which will start in May, will be launched for retail users.
