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Frequently asked questions

What's the motivation and purpose behind Mirage?

Mirage was created to make private stablecoin transfers feel simple enough for everyday use.

In the traditional financial system, privacy is part of the transfer experience. Companies can send payroll, pay suppliers, manage treasury transfers, and settle transactions without revealing sensitive financial information to the public. Individuals can transact without publishing a permanent financial graph.

Public blockchains work differently. Wallet balances, transaction amounts, and counterparties are visible by default. That transparency is useful for auditability, but it makes stablecoins harder to use for normal financial activity.

For stablecoins to become widely used for transfers, users need privacy without relying on a centralized custodian or learning a complex privacy workflow.

Mirage aims to provide that missing layer. Its purpose is to enable confidential stablecoin transfers directly on public blockchains, allowing wallets, transaction platforms, exchanges, and decentralized applications to offer privacy while preserving self-custody.

Mirage is also designed with compliance considerations in mind. Wallet screening and transaction-monitoring mechanisms can help identify links to sanctioned entities, criminal activity, or compromised funds.

How does Mirage differ from other privacy solutions?

Many mixers and privacy pools rely on shared smart contracts where users' funds are combined. Because these contracts are public and identifiable, observers can often detect when someone interacts with the privacy tool. Privacy coins take a different approach by obscuring transaction details at the protocol level within their own networks.

Mirage takes a different approach:

  • Simple UX: Users send stablecoins through a familiar transfer flow.
  • Fast settlement: Mirage targets completion in under 90 seconds on Ethereum mainnet, depending on network conditions.
  • Segregation of funds: Each private transaction uses a unique temporary escrow contract.
  • Usage privacy: Transactions avoid a single known privacy contract or shared-pool fingerprint.
  • Native stablecoins: Users do not need to swap into a different asset or move to a privacy chain.
  • Proof-based settlement: Nodes are reimbursed only after correct execution is verified onchain.

The system is designed to make private stablecoin transfers easier to use while reducing the simple public labels that come with shared privacy pools. See How Mirage Compares and Technical Model for more detail.

Is Mirage non-custodial?

Yes. Neither Mirage nor participating nodes take custody of user funds. Instead:

  • Funds are deposited into temporary escrow contracts deployed by the user.
  • Transfer execution is verified onchain before reimbursement.
  • No trusted party must approve the transfer.

Nodes execute transactions and receive reimbursement from escrow contracts only after proving correct execution. The user can withdraw funds from the escrow without permission as long as a node has not already posted a security deposit to complete the transaction.

How long does a Mirage transfer take?

On Ethereum mainnet, Mirage targets completion in under 90 seconds. Actual processing time depends on network block times, congestion, and available node liquidity.

Can I use Mirage directly in wallets or dApps?

Yes. Mirage is designed for integration into wallets, protocols, and applications through its TypeScript SDK. Sensitive transaction data is encrypted locally on the user's device before being sent to network nodes.

What information remains visible on-chain?

Mirage is designed so that recipient-side blockchain activity looks like an ordinary stablecoin transfer.

Observers may see:

  • A deposit into a temporary contract
  • A standard transfer from another address to the recipient
  • A later withdrawal from the escrow contract

Because each transaction uses a unique contract and does not interact with a recognizable privacy pool, observers do not get the usual simple privacy-protocol label. Timing, amount, gas behavior, and contract deployment patterns can still matter, which is why Mirage combines unique escrows, encrypted signals, confidential-computing nodes, and ongoing privacy research.

What information does Mirage collect?

In the upcoming Beta release, connecting a wallet to the Mirage web application will trigger wallet screening, risk scoring, and analysis of the origin of funds through a compliance-partner integration. These checks help Mirage meet Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) requirements and restrict access by illicit actors.

Is there a liquidity risk associated with using Mirage?

A shortage of node liquidity can delay execution, but it does not allow a node to take escrowed funds. The escrow reimburses a node only after the transaction is verified.

Mirage transactions rely on nodes that provide their own liquidity to execute transfers. Nodes must maintain enough stablecoin liquidity, such as USDC, to execute user requests.

This means:

  • Nodes temporarily front liquidity for transfers.
  • The escrow contract reimburses them after verification.

If the node network lacks sufficient liquidity, the funds remain in the escrow contract and can be withdrawn or submitted again later.

What are the fees associated with a Mirage transaction?

Mirage uses a base service fee of 15 basis points (0.15%) of the transfer amount. The final service fee is quote-based and can also reflect execution variables such as the token, transfer size, available node liquidity, execution costs, and current network conditions.

Mirage presents this as one service-fee quote rather than a separate platform fee and node fee. Normal Ethereum gas is paid separately through your wallet. You will see the current quote and total required amount before approving the transaction.

See Fees and Timing for more detail.

Compliance

How is Mirage different from classic mixer risk?

In classic mixer models, participants may inherit risk by sharing a pool with unrelated users. Mirage does not commingle unrelated users' funds, so each user remains responsible for their own funds and transaction activity.

What does Mirage screen?

At escrow deployment, Mirage runs a wallet-screening check through a third-party compliance partner. This process requires only the user's wallet address.

Can I export records for reviews?

Yes. Users can download receipts from the Website that include the transaction flow, timestamps, metadata, and transaction hashes. This data remains local to the user's environment.

Does Mirage hold funds or all transaction records?

No. Mirage is non-custodial and does not have access to users' local receipt files.

How can I get help if I suspect an issue?

Contact compliance@mirageprivacy.com. We are happy to provide proactive support and cooperate as much as we can.