The year 2025 marked a significant turn for on-chain privacy. Zcash, a pioneer in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, saw a remarkable surge of over 600%, becoming one of the standout successes of the year. Ethereum and Solana launched key projects aimed at enhancing privacy within their networks. Furthermore, startups developing privacy-preserving technologies utilizing zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) continued to gain momentum.
Looking forward to 2026, we consulted five prominent figures in the privacy realm for their forecasts.
Practicality of Privacy Will Increase
Bobbin Threadbare, co-founder of Miden
In 2026, it will become apparent that privacy is not absolute. Complete transparency and total privacy are unfeasible in real-world scenarios because, while privacy is crucial for honest individuals, it can also be exploited by criminals to bypass law enforcement and endanger the very users it aims to protect. By 2026, acceptances of necessary trade-offs that limit privacy in certain situations to enhance protocol security will emerge (e.g., making it challenging for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities). A potential framework could involve offering conditional privacy for high-risk transactions and complete privacy for low-risk transactions, mirroring how cash functions in everyday life.
The Rise of Private Stablecoins
Khushi Wadhwa, head of business development at Predicate
In 2026, private stablecoins will become a fundamental component of global on-chain payment systems. We will witness a surge in the development of stablecoins that incorporate configurable privacy from the outset, featuring selective disclosure, transaction amount obfuscation, and, in some instances, complete sender-receiver anonymity. This progress will be driven by realistic payment settlement requirements. Businesses will need confidentiality to safeguard sensitive commercial connections and treasury movements, while retail users will increasingly turn away from entirely transparent payment systems. Importantly, these frameworks will not exist independently from regulation; they will integrate compliance measures that preserve fundamental privacy. Consequently, this will redefine what “compliant payments” mean on-chain, establishing private stablecoins as the favored choice for both institutional settlements and daily transactions.
Industrialization of Privacy
Paul Brody, EY global blockchain leader
2026 will be the year when privacy begins to be industrialized on-chain. Various solutions are progressing from testnet to operational status, including Aztec, Nightfall, Railgun, COTI, among others. However, challenges will remain, as few consumer wallets yet support these features, and regulatory compliance approaches are likely to remain inconsistent. Widespread adoption will only occur once several of these obstacles are addressed, but this will mark the transition from theory to practical application.
‘Threat-Resistance’ Becomes Standard
Wei Dai, 1kx, Research Partner
Threat-resistant on-chain privacy, wherein blockchains are engineered to be almost impervious to data manipulation and unauthorized alterations, will transition into the norm. Rather than fixating on idealistic, theoretical privacy assurances, more projects will focus on delivering practical privacy solutions that enable individuals and businesses to operate on-chain while dissuading malicious actors from exploiting privacy protocols to launder illicit funds. Threat-resistant privacy will encompass two main types of solutions: (1) throttled privacy solutions, which incorporate deposit delays and restrict in-protocol transfers, and (2) responsible privacy solutions that function without velocity limitations, where an information custodian remains accountable for tracking transaction activity in the event of any malicious breaches.
