Vitalik Buterin-backed Nocturne protocol shuts dow

Nocturne, backed by prominent cryptocurrency experts, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, announced it was ceasing operations in a June 5 X post.

“After shutting down the privacy protocol we built earlier last year, we’ve decided to wind down the company.”

The company gave no explanation for the closure. Cointelegraph has approached Nocturne Labs for comment.

Nocturne initially aimed to introduce private accounts and transactions to the Ethereum ecosystem. In October 2023, the firm raised $6 million in a seed funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital, with participation from Buterin.

Nocturne front-end withdrawals remain open until the end of June

Despite winding down company operations, users will still be able to execute withdrawals through the Nocturne front end until the end of June, according to the announcement: