The Ethereum Foundation has officially announced its privacy development efforts by establishing a Privacy Cluster led by Igor Barinov. This cluster provides a full-stack privacy infrastructure, including wallets and SDKs.
The Ethereum Foundation remains dedicated to privacy and plans to formalize its efforts with a new organization called the Privacy Cluster, led by Igor Barinov. The cluster brings together 47 researchers and developers and aims to unify all aspects of privacy on Ethereum. The cluster also supports the Kohaku Privacy Wallet and Privacy Protection SDK.
The Privacy Cluster is the Ethereum Privacy Steward (PSE), expanding on research and work completed since 2018. PSE has already Privacy roadmap Will be used in future products. The privacy cluster emerged after signs of increased demand for veiled transactions on Ethereum based on usage of the Railgun Mixing service.
There is a growing demand for privacy on Ethereum based on increased routing through Railgun mixers. |Source: Dune Analytics
The privacy cluster includes private read/write, attestation, identity, privacy experience, and more. The Foundation will also have a Privacy Task Force to address systemic issues.
Ethereum proponents typically support privacy as a way to choose what data to make public. For now, most Ethereum transactions are visible, but veiling and privacy, including proofing capabilities, are being considered as viable solutions.
Ethereum builds privacy for all user classes
While on-chain tracking is a valuable tool, the Ethereum Foundation believes that all types of users should have privacy choices. For individual users, personal safety is one of the main reasons. Privacy also applies to developers and institutions that are reluctant to fully share their on-chain activities.
At the same time, it is possible to check the source of funds and connections to cybercrime in private transactions without leaving any publicly visible records.
One of the reasons Ethereum is so focused on privacy is the chain’s goal to carry trillions of dollars of value and provide reliability similar to other financial platforms.
Privacy cluster addresses previously set goals and initiatives
The Ethereum Foundation announced that the PSE team will continue to work under Andy Guzman to address early-stage research and development issues. The privacy cluster handles the new project list.
Some of the privacy tools include private read and write, including records of payments, votes, and other interactions. The goal is to accomplish on-chain activities without monitoring or leaking metadata. Private certifications are also provided to confirm eligibility, identity, or origin of assets without disclosing unnecessary information. Private ID extends the tool with online identities protected through selective disclosure.
At the application level, Ethereum provides tools such as semaphores, MACI, and stealth addresses for various on-chain tasks, especially governance and identity.
Ethereum also plans to improve the privacy experience for end users, making it feel normal and seamless. All items are monitored and implemented by the Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF). IPTF persuades agencies to implement the latest regulatory requirements into privacy specifications for real-world business use cases. All services are built on Kohaku’s privacy-preserving wallet and open SDK.