From Base to Tempo: Why crypto heavyweights are betting big on privacy
Zcash, Monero soar as privacy narrative draws heavyweights like Coinbase
Key Takeaways
Why is everyone jumping on the privacy narrative?
Experts believe it will be crucial, especially as global payments go on-chain via stablecoins.
How has the privacy coins sector performed in 2025?
The segment topped the charts with a 100% average rally.
The on-chain privacy narrative continues to attract new players. Tempo, the upcoming payment-focused chain being built by Stripe and Paradigm, will also adopt some privacy features.
Matt Huang, Paradigm founder and Project Lead at Tempo, said that the move followed several requests from design partners.
Earlier in the week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also confirmed that they’re exploring “private stablecoin transactions” for Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 incubated by the exchange.
So why the sudden rush? And why now?
Demand for privacy booms
Blockchain is often mistaken for privacy. But it’s an open book that anyone, anywhere can peep through with no regard for user privacy whatsoever. And critics always bring up laundering and illicit funds as a driver behind the narrative.
But the demand for privacy is not all about crime. Imagine buying coffee with your banking card or mobile payment.
Would you be okay if the merchant could check all the transactions you’ve made with the card, including the current balance, at will?
Well, that’s what open blockchains do. This could easily make you an easy target, especially for celebs and personalities.
So, why not bring a similar tech that shields and keeps such personal info private in Web3? That’s exactly what’s behind the renewed push for private on-chain transactions.
Mert Mumtaz, Founder of Solana-based development firm Helius Labs, believes that the narrative could explode 1000X.
Privacy coins for the win
For speculative plays, coins like Zcash [ZEC], popularly known as a private Bitcoin [BTC] alternative, and Monero [XMR] have fronted massive rallies as the narrative picked up pace in H2.
From a sector-wise perspective, the segment outperformed the rest on a YTD (year-to-date) basis. The category has jumped 112%.
Monero and Zcash have been the top-performing privacy coins. But there are other assets like Zano [ZANO] and Railgun [RAIL] that also saw impressive returns.
That said, it remains a legal grey area. Although private crypto mixers like Tornado Cash have faced scrutiny in the past, it remains to be seen how lawmakers will view the ongoing push for on-chain privacy.
