The Ethereum Foundations Commitment to Privacy

Privacy means having the freedom to determine what information to share, when to share it, and with whom. We often overlook this in our everyday lives—whether it’s shutting a door, casting a secret ballot, or having a private conversation with a friend. However, these privacy measures are frequently absent in online and onchain environments.

Ethereum was designed as the cornerstone of digital trust on a scale befitting humanity’s progress. To sustain that trust, it is crucial to integrate privacy within its foundation. The Ethereum Foundation (EF), along with numerous Ethereum teams dedicated to privacy, is committed to advancing this important cause.

Why Privacy Matters

The brief answer: it matters to everyone.

• For individuals: Online privacy is crucial for maintaining dignity and autonomy, allowing people to control what they share and with whom.

• For developers: Privacy broadens the scope for innovation, enabling the creation of safer applications and entirely new categories of products, while mitigating risk for creators (e.g., data protection).

• For organizations: Privacy is fundamental for operational efficiency and decision making. It empowers businesses to determine partnerships, manage employee compensation, and structure internal processes while adhering to security and compliance requirements for public blockchain integration.

• For society: Privacy is essential for preserving democratic values and fostering collective trust. It ensures systems are credible, safeguarding the freedom to think, communicate, and transact without undue surveillance or pressure.

Currently, Ethereum underpins billions in assets and millions of transactions daily. To maintain its usability, trustworthiness, and commitment to human rights, privacy is indispensable.

Our Pledge

The Ethereum Foundation is dedicated to privacy based on a straightforward belief: credible neutrality, security, and transparency provide greater value to humanity when complemented by privacy.

Since 2018, the Foundation has supported privacy research through the PSE team, which has accomplished numerous milestones:

• Developed over 50+ open-source R&D initiatives exploring privacy-enhancing tools.
• Launched core technologies such as Semaphore (for anonymous signaling), MACI (for private voting), zkEmail, TLSNotary (a pioneer of zkTLS), and Anon Aadhaar (for private national identification), among others.
• Created repositories that have been widely adopted, serving as the foundation for privacy R&D throughout the ecosystem.

Now we are poised to advance even further.

The EF is amplifying its privacy initiatives. PSE will persist as a team devoted to pioneering research led by Andy. Simultaneously, new privacy-centric projects are being developed. Collectively, these efforts comprise the newly formed Privacy Cluster at the EF, overseen by Igor Barinov.

This Privacy Cluster consists of 47 leading researchers, engineers, coordinators, and cryptographers in the blockchain field.

The Privacy Cluster encompasses not just a single project but includes vital initiatives from PSE and other EF endeavors such as:

• Private Reads & Writes (PSE): Streamlining private actions like payments, votes, and other interactions to make them seamless and cost-effective, enabling users and businesses to operate without fear of surveillance or data breaches.

• Private Proving (PSE): Enhancing the efficiency of proofs so individuals can validate eligibility, identity, or asset ownership without revealing unwarranted details.

• Private Identities (PSE): Selective disclosure and zkID projects designed to safeguard your online identity.

• Privacy Experience (PSE): Enhancing the user experience of privacy protocols, ensuring that privacy feels normal and accessible to all.

• Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF): A cross-functional task force that connects institutions and Ethereum by transforming regulatory and operational demands into privacy-focused standards that address real-world use cases.

• Kohaku: A new reference implementation of a privacy-preserving wallet and a comprehensive wallet SDK, crafted to democratize access to robust cryptographic tools. For more details, check the full roadmap.

Privacy is an essential component of the Ethereum ecosystem, and we are committed to collaborating with the community to make it a fundamental reality for everyone—individuals and organizations alike.

Integrating Our Initiatives

The Ethereum Foundation’s privacy initiatives encompass the complete spectrum, from advanced cryptographic research to practical applications and user experiences:

• Cutting-edge research: PSE is at the forefront of applied cryptography, including zero-knowledge proofs, with contributions from many top researchers and engineers.

• Protocol development: These innovations inform the integration of scalability and confidentiality within Ethereum’s protocols.

• Application advancements: Projects like Semaphore, MACI, and stealth addresses illustrate how improved privacy can enhance payments, governance, and identity verification.

• Institutional collaboration: The Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF) guarantees these technologies align with real-world operational and regulatory criteria across various sectors (RWA, Funds & Assets, Payments, Trading, Oracles & Compliance).

• Privacy tools: Kohaku investigates how robust cryptography can be perceived as standard, ensuring privacy is widely accessible.

And we are not alone in this pursuit. The extensive efforts from numerous teams, leaders, and advocates for privacy propel us all forward. The EF is here to contribute its part. Our endeavors aim to enhance the existing landscape of over 700 privacy projects within the crypto ecosystem. See those projects here.

Looking Ahead

Enhancing privacy on Ethereum is a significant responsibility for our ecosystem. By continually improving privacy features across all levels of technology, we can better protect users onchain and unlock new possibilities for developers and organizations. The foundation for this work is already in place. The Ethereum ecosystem will keep evolving, refining, and deploying privacy solutions for individuals, institutions, and the collective benefit of all.

Embracing Privacy as Normal.

Interested in collaborating?
Feel free to reach out to us at [emailprotected]