Documentation
How shield works
No exam required. This is the deposit / note / withdraw loop in plain language.
The short version
Shield = put money into Gloam’s vault.
Private send = pay someone while funds stay in the vault (share a payment code).
Cash out = take it back to your open wallet with a proof that you own it.
While it is in the vault, your normal wallet balance no longer shows that amount. The vault holds many people’s deposits together.
Where your money sits
Your wallet
Open
Anyone can see the balance if they know the address.
Gloam pool
Shielded
Money is in the shared vault. You hold a private note that proves it's yours.
After unshield
Open again
Exit is public on purpose — money leaves the vault back to a wallet.
Step by step
You start public
ETH or stock tokens sit in your wallet. Explorers can show that balance.
You shield
You send assets to the pool contract. A “commitment” (a fingerprint of your deposit) is written on-chain.
You keep a note
Your browser stores a secret linked to that deposit. Clear site data and you lose the local copy (the on-chain leaf remains).
You private-send or cash out
Private send splits a note into payment + change and hands the recipient a code. Cash out builds a proof and pays your open wallet.
- 1
You start public
ETH or stock tokens sit in your wallet. Explorers can show that balance.
- 2
You shield
You send assets to the pool contract. A “commitment” (a fingerprint of your deposit) is written on-chain.
- 3
You keep a note
Your browser stores a secret linked to that deposit. Clear site data and you lose the local copy (the on-chain leaf remains).
- 4
You private-send or cash out
Private send splits a note into payment + change and hands the recipient a code. Cash out builds a proof and pays your open wallet.
Visual path
How Gloam works
Wallet → vault → note → (later private send) → withdraw.
- 01
Your wallet
Open balance
Normal wallet. Anyone who knows the address can see what it holds.
- 02
Shield
Deposit
You send assets into Gloam’s pool. A fingerprint of the deposit is written on-chain.
- 03
Your note
Private claim
Your browser keeps the secret that proves the deposit is yours.
- 04
Private send
Coming next
Later: move value to someone else without a clear public path. Not fully live yet.
- 05
Unshield
Withdraw
You prove ownership and money returns to a normal wallet. Exit is public on purpose.
What the public still sees
- That someone used the Gloam contract
- When money entered or left the vault (shield / cash out edges)
- That a private transfer happened — not who paid whom how much
- Not (goal) your exact private bag while it stays inside
What we do not claim
Cash out is not invisible — leaving the vault is a public moment. Private send hides the payment details, not the fact that the vault was used. Private trade is next.