Remi has secured approximately $135,000 from the Stellar Community Fund to develop a confidential settlement layer for regulated financial institutions. The initiative could help banks, payment providers and other financial firms use blockchain technology without exposing sensitive customer transactions and balances.
The project addresses one of the main challenges that has slowed blockchain adoption in mainstream finance: privacy. While public blockchains provide transparency, that same feature can be difficult for regulated institutions that cannot afford to make client information visible to competitors or the wider public.
Making Blockchain More Practical for Financial Institutions
Remi’s proposed settlement layer will keep transaction amounts and account balances encrypted on-chain while still allowing transfers to be verified. The system will use zero-knowledge proofs to confirm that transactions are mathematically valid without revealing the actual values involved.
This could give financial institutions greater privacy while preserving the security and integrity of a public blockchain. It also aims to address regulatory requirements through a system that includes compliance within the protocol itself.
When a new account is created, a viewing key will be placed in escrow and made accessible only to authorised auditors. This will allow regulators to inspect specific transactions when necessary without gaining access to an institution’s entire account history. The approach is designed to provide selective disclosure rather than unrestricted access to financial information.
The need for such technology is linked to the limitations of traditional correspondent banking, which many financial institutions continue to rely on for cross-border transactions. These systems can be slow and expensive. By offering confidential settlement on blockchain infrastructure, Remi hopes to provide regulated institutions with another option for moving money efficiently while maintaining the privacy and oversight they require.
Building on Stellar and Supporting Wider Adoption
Remi chose the Stellar network because of its focus on payments and cross-border transfers. Stellar provides fast settlement, low transaction costs and support for moving between different currencies. Its existing network of anchors and liquidity providers also gives Remi a foundation for connecting its infrastructure to local currencies.
Another important part of the project is that financial institutions will not need to deal directly with cryptocurrency. Remi is developing sponsored network fees that will allow the underlying crypto-asset transactions to be handled in the background. Banks and payment providers can therefore use the infrastructure without having to hold or manage digital assets themselves.
The funding will also support the development of open-source tools for the wider Stellar ecosystem. These will include operational dashboards, a sponsored-transaction relayer and a client software development kit. Making these tools available could make it easier for other regulated financial operators to build and operate blockchain-based services.
Remi Co-Founder and CEO A. Tony Amer said the project responds to a market need for financial infrastructure that does not require institutions to choose between privacy and compliance.
The company is now working to move the system from testnet towards mainnet deployment, alongside the development of compliance tools needed by institutional operations teams.
