# Welcome to Kinto

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Welcome to Kinto! **Kinto is the modular exchange**. Access the best opportunities in DeFi through our tailored blockchain and non-custodial smart wallet, engineered for maximum security and seamless user experience.\
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Kinto boasts an **L2 focused on providing safe access to on-chain finance**. It's built on top of the **Ethereum network** using the [<mark style="color:purple;">Arbitrum Nitro Stack</mark>](https://docs.arbitrum.io/why-nitro), and it's non-custodial, transparent, permissionless, and governed by the community.

Kinto has been designed from the ground up to provide a **safe environment for users and financial institutions**.  Kinto has two unique features at the chain level to enhance the security of the chain:

* By default, Kinto provides KYC,  AML & fraud monitoring at the blockchain level. All participants in the network are KYC'ed, and the network runs AML on all of the participants. **Transactions can then only be performed by verified participants achieving Sybil Resistance**. PII is only saved in identity providers chosen by governance. Users' information cannot be linked to their on-chain accounts except when they choose to do so with an application that requests it.
* Kinto **gives every single user a smart contract wallet** powered by Account Abstraction. **The Kinto wallet aims to be invisible.** The user does not need to worry about complicated browser extensions, seed phrases or gas while still receiving the benefits of non-custodial ownership. Kinto wallet offers similar security assurances to a Gnosis safe, the standard in on-chain security.

Kinto has a **two-layer governance system fully on-chain**. The protocol parameters, sequencer, and treasury will be voted on-chain by 9 Nios (Guardians). Token-holders elect these 9 guardians on a rolling 6-month basis.

You can read our initial announcement [<mark style="color:purple;">here</mark>](https://medium.com/mamori-finance/%EF%B8%8F-introducing-kinto-%EF%B8%8F-dae3666b2b3f).