Safe Ecosystem Foundation introduced Safenet on December 3, 2024, describing it as a transaction processor network designed for its non-custodial multisignature Safe Wallet. Despite headlines suggesting a full public launch, official documentation framed the rollout as an early-stage introduction with an alpha version planned for Q1 2025, and Safe later paused active development on the project in July 2025.
Safe Foundation introduced Safenet in December 2024
The Safe Ecosystem Foundation published its “Introducing Safenet” announcement on December 3, 2024. The post described Safenet as a transaction processor network rather than a blockchain or layer 2 solution.
The distinction matters. Some initial coverage framed the announcement as a full product launch, but the Foundation’s own language was more cautious. The announcement stated that a first alpha version was scheduled for Q1 2025, and it included a disclaimer noting that any live implementation or mainnet deployment would depend on SafeDAO governance decisions and possible third-party participation.
Safe is best known for its multisignature wallet infrastructure, which Messari reported had reached $97.1 billion in total value stored by Q4 2024. The Safenet introduction represented a move beyond wallet security into cross-chain transaction processing, a significant expansion of the project’s scope.
How Safenet was designed to work on top of existing chains
Safenet was not designed as a standalone network. Instead, the Foundation described it as a layer that would sit on top of existing and future blockchains, processing transactions across chains without requiring users to bridge assets manually.
The core technical mechanism is called optimistic validity proofs. According to Safe’s technical documentation, this approach assumes transactions are valid by default and only triggers slower, gas-intensive settlement processes when a transaction is challenged. This design choice was intended to keep execution fast under normal conditions.
Safe targeted execution guarantees under 500 milliseconds for Safenet transactions, including cross-chain operations. For context, typical cross-chain bridge transfers can take minutes to hours depending on the networks involved, similar to how projects in the broader DeFi ecosystem, such as Drift Protocol’s infrastructure, grapple with speed and security tradeoffs.
The processor-validator model proposed for Safenet would have created an incentive structure where processors execute transactions quickly and validators ensure correctness. Only disputed transactions would fall back to on-chain settlement, keeping costs low for routine operations.
What happened after the Safenet announcement
The Q1 2025 alpha target came and went without a confirmed broad public deployment. Research found no authoritative evidence of a mainnet Safenet launch between the December 2024 announcement and mid-2025.
On July 1, 2025, Safe Foundation published an update stating that active development on Safenet’s unified-balance and chain-abstraction layer had been paused. The Foundation said it was open-sourcing the codebase, making the work available for others to build on even as the core team shifted focus. This development mirrors the kinds of strategic pivots seen across the crypto ecosystem, where projects like those discussed at events such as the Penn Blockchain Conference 2026 regularly reassess product direction.
The pause was notable given the scale of Safe’s existing infrastructure. With total value processed reaching $111.6 billion in Q4 2024, the Foundation’s decision to step back from Safenet suggested either technical challenges, shifting priorities, or a reassessment of the chain-abstraction approach.
At press time, the SAFE token traded at $0.097538 with a 24-hour change of roughly -0.64% and a market capitalization near $71 million. The broader crypto market sat in “Extreme Fear” territory with a Fear and Greed Index score of 12, a sentiment backdrop that has weighed on governance tokens across the sector, including those tied to stablecoin-related controversies.
The Safenet codebase remains open-source, and the Foundation has not ruled out future development. However, as of the most recent official update, no timeline for resuming work has been announced, and any future deployment would still require SafeDAO approval.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
