The Ethereum Foundation has established a "Privacy Research Group" to promote six major roadmaps and fully launch the competition in the privacy track.

The Ethereum Foundation has launched a privacy research group and six major roadmaps, implementing native privacy protection comprehensively from protocols to applications. (Background: Vitalik and Xiao Feng initiated the Ethereum Application Alliance EAG, inviting global developers to co-build collaboration.) (Background supplement: Consensys founder calls for “three new directions for Ethereum”: integration of AI, enhancement of UX, and scalability.) In an era where digital footprints are omnipresent, privacy is rapidly becoming a focal point of blockchain competition. The Ethereum Foundation (Ethereum Foundation, EF) announced on October 8 the latest statement, declaring that it views privacy as a core pillar of ecological development and has launched a “privacy cluster” strategy that spans protocols, tools, and compliance. A New Strategy Centered on Privacy In the past, while blockchain could conceal true identification, all transactions were public on-chain, making it easy for on-chain analysis companies to trace. EF warned that without privacy protection, Ethereum could degrade into a “surveillance infrastructure.” In the statement, EF explicitly stated: “We see privacy as the cornerstone of digital trust in the measure of civilization.” To this end, the foundation announced the establishment of a privacy cluster consisting of 47 researchers, engineers, and cryptographers to embed privacy capabilities into the underlying network, avoiding future patchwork solutions. Six Major Technical Roadmaps As early as 2018, the EF's “Ethereum Privacy Steward” (PSE) team had already accumulated over 50 open-source projects, including the anonymous signaling protocol Semaphore and the private voting system MACI. This upgrade integrates existing achievements into six major directions: private read/write, private proofs, private identification, privacy experience, private payments, and private interoperability, covering everything from information encryption to user interface. To lower the barriers, the team is also developing the Kohaku Wallet and open-source SDK so that developers do not need to delve into the details of zk-SNARKs but can still call privacy libraries. Compliance Needs and Institutional Landing Large asset management companies, banks, and payment providers often have concerns about anti-money laundering and personal data protection requirements when venturing onto the chain. Therefore, EF established the “Institutional Privacy Working Group” (IPTF), responsible for translating regulatory texts into technical specifications. For example, in the future, real-world asset (RWA) issuance can conceal transaction details through the private L2 solution PlasmaFold while retaining optional audit access for disclosure. Vitalik Buterin previously emphasized: “Privacy is a fundamental human right.” This statement can now be realized through the compliance interface of IPTF, meeting the minimum traceability requirements of regulatory bodies while maintaining decentralization and resistance to censorship. Challenges and Future Milestones Despite the grand blueprint, the complexity of technology, interoperability of solutions, and global regulatory differences remain three major obstacles. EF stated that it plans to collaborate with the Web3 privacy project community to ensure that new tools are compatible with existing protocols. The short-term goal is to implement private read/write functionality on the mainnet before 2026 and release the first version of the Kohaku mobile wallet. In the medium to long term, the focus will be on standardizing cross-chain private interoperability, allowing Ethereum to share private assets and identification with other public chains. This comprehensive upgrade of the Ethereum Foundation from the protocol layer to the application layer sets a clear timeline for “privacy as the norm.” Whether it can balance user dignity, institutional needs, and regulatory interfaces still requires continuous collaboration within the ecosystem. Only when technology matures, regulations become clear, and user adoption is achieved can this privacy blueprint have a real chance of being realized. Related Reports The Ethereum Foundation sold 21,000 ETH in three months, quietly exchanging for $72.94 million in roadmap funding. Tom Lee's TOKEN2049 speech: The world welcomes its first major reform after the gold standard, and Ethereum will be the biggest beneficiary. Ethereum's official survey: Users feel the technology is not leading, and narrative weakness is a psychological pressure on coin prices. <The Ethereum Foundation establishes a “Privacy Research Group” to promote six major roadmaps, fully launching privacy track competition> This article was first published in BlockTempo, the most influential blockchain news media.