Hello everyone. It’s been some time since our last article. We’ve been very busy at Usher Labs. Today, I want to share what we’ve been doing, our progress so far, and how feedback from the market has shaped our path forward.
Since starting Usher Labs, we’ve seen the dangers of poor data handling up close. We’ve worked with teams like Streamr, DFINITY, and Kwil to spot these issues, study why they happen, and come up with fixes. Building software in the crypto world is tough. The market changes quickly. Trying to follow trends often leads nowhere. Making your own trend feels like luck.
At first, our work focused on decentralised data storage. But feedback showed us this fits only certain needs. It didn’t fully match our main goal: using safe, private, or restricted data to handle money on blockchains.
Data needs to be decentralised only if:
- It’s used by another decentralised system.
- It must avoid any single point of failure – like Arweave.
- It saves money – like Filecoin compared to AWS S3.
The real key to safe data in Web3 is complete verifiability. This means a smart contract can use maths-based proofs to confirm the data is right. It’s a hard challenge because trust can break as data moves. For example, if I get info from my doctor and pass it to you, how do you know it’s true? Storing it on IPFS might help a bit, but what if I change it first? In crypto, there are no rules like in the real world.
On top of that, focusing on a small area versus growing a company are two different goals. They meet when your software turns into a product that gives value to:
- Many customers, but each in a small way.
- A few customers, but each in a big way.
- Many customers, each in a big way – like foundational AI models.
Our Mission in 2025
In 2025, our main goal at Usher Labs is to start with real problems, hear what the market needs, and build solutions from there.
As you’ll see on our website, we care a lot about data security – especially for apps in Web3. This is a focused area. Tools for basic infrastructure can be broad, but they end up competing with many others. What sets them apart is often how well they distribute and get used. For us, data security links up with Oracle Networks. But we never aimed to just be another Oracle. Oracles act like delivery systems that send data to blockchains. Yet, they often skip over where the data comes from and if it’s safe. New math-based tools in cryptography are now making this possible.
Our goal is to fill what Oracles lack: safe ways to bring private or special data to blockchains for apps that rely on data.
The idea is to stop apps from potentially making up data that controls huge amounts of money.
In short, our progress is clear: We’re making this happen.
zkTLS: Unlock Liquidity Everywhere
You might have heard of zkTLS. It’s a tool that creates math-based proofs about where data comes from. It does this without sharing any private details.
Here are some examples:
- “Prove you’re a good coder by linking your GitHub, but keep your name hidden.”
- “Prove this answer came from an AI, without saying which one.”
- “Prove this X (Twitter) NFT is truly one-of-a-kind, without showing the API keys.”
But most tools ignore how it’s really used. That’s because few businesses need it. For those that do, it’s key when things grow big.
We care about adding research and fixes to this focused issue. As we said before, this alone isn’t a full product. It’s a useful tool. An important one that opens up ways to track trillions in money outside blockchains. It helps blend today’s finance systems with the new tech of cryptocurrencies and blockchains.
Without ways for anyone to prove what’s in a bank account or elsewhere, the field will rely on money held by stablecoin and real-world asset issuers. We think we can improve that. We see zkTLS as the building block for checking rules and if funds are safe.
More precisely, it lets apps do calculations over money anywhere, using on-chain incentive mechanics to handle settlements — since real-world money follows different rules.
Unlike other zkTLS methods, Usher Labs’ way includes:
- Server-side setup: Made for business apps and tasks.
- Fast proofs: Handles many at once, with TLS proofs taking about 3 seconds on average.
- Works everywhere: Makes proofs that fit any blockchain setup.
- Keeps privacy: Protects data while allowing checks on how it’s handled.
Instead of just “proof of API call,” our method builds a full system for requests and calculations. Data is no good if you can’t work with it, right? So, safely turning info from Binance and Equifax into one number for an app is as vital as proving it came from those places.
This concept leads to the Verity zkTLS Stack. It builds on research from Ethereum’s PSE – by forking TLSNotary. We’re working with them to create data flows that maximise trust by users, minimise trust assumed by blockchains and apps.
The Results
Shipping Verity zkTLS
Verity zkTLS is now in its early testing stage. This means you can start using it to build safe data flows. These flows move info from protected APIs to blockchains. We’re still working on full safety features for the multi-party tech. There might be some small issues we’re fixing before it’s ready for everyday use.
We’ve teamed up with groups like Truflation, ChainSight, Rooch Network, and Bitte AI. Each partner could have its own story, but the main idea is the same. People often trust the operator sourcing the data too much. With Verity, we make proofs about the data’s source. This cuts out that trust in the middleman. It lets us set rules on the data from API calls.
For example, ChainSight needs about 28,000 proofs a year. Think of this as a test run. It helps us find problems in Verity zkTLS. At the same time, ChainSight can work on their own goals. Together, we’re aiming for proofs made at the same time – up to 1,000 at once.
Travel and Gathering Feedback
From late 2024 to mid-2025, our leads at Usher Labs travelled a lot. We went to events around the world. These trips let us meet new partners and hear what people think about our work. It’s key to check if our plans match what’s really happening in the market.
We shared our tech at the ICP Lab and on stage at EthBucharest.
Feedback from all kinds of crypto folks matches our big picture. Our zkTLS system is a base for new data apps. Its worth shows up in fresh ideas using private or special data sets. At Usher Labs, we’re using this to open new ways for money to flow between old finance and DeFi.
Foreign Exchange and Linking Old Finance to DeFi
On our trips, we moved fast and kept our main goal in sight. Talking about zkTLS, we see foreign exchange as a great fit. It could bring FX trading on-chain and cut fees from old systems. We’ve thought about this since 2021.
Making FX markets on-chain tightens the spread between buyers and sellers. But illiquidity in these markets warrants connection to smarter capital, and better market efficiencies. This is where we see our future. The company is heading this way.
Our past work with Stellar aimed to check stablecoin reserves for their anchors using zkTLS. It was a start, but the issue goes deeper. That’s why on-chain FX spreads aren’t as good as old systems yet.
With help from Arbitrum and Outlier Ventures, we’re set to launch an early version of our liquidity protocol in September or October 2025. We’ll share more news then.
What’s next?
Keep an eye out for new articles coming soon! We’ll dive deeper into the Verity zkTLS Stack and share details about our liquidity protocol. This protocol uses zkTLS to connect traditional finance with DeFi, opening up new pools of money to support decentralised exchange markets.
Join our community on Discord, follows us on X or visit usher.so for updates and to get involved!
