On September 15, Ethereum celebrates a milestone: three years since its transformative shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, known as “The Merge.” This significant anniversary coincides with the unveiling of a new privacy roadmap from the Ethereum Foundation’s research and development team, formerly known as the “Privacy & Scaling Explorations” (PSE), which has now been rebranded as “Privacy Stewards for Ethereum.” This change reflects a heightened focus on enhancing privacy within the Ethereum ecosystem.
The PSE initiative has long been at the forefront of Ethereum research, exploring and validating innovative technological concepts that often set the groundwork for widespread adoption within the blockchain community. Before The Merge, the PSE team was instrumental in validating cryptographic primitives that transitioned Ethereum from a proof-of-work to a PoS model. Their pioneering work included developing zero-knowledge (zk) solutions, playing a critical role in the evolution of Layer 2 protocols, such as Polygon zkEVM and zkSync.
Under its new identity as Privacy Stewards, the team has taken on the challenge of enhancing privacy across various Ethereum applications and protocols. The PSE’s recent blog post outlines its renewed mission, emphasizing the need for strong, censorship-resistant, intermediary-free privacy. This strategic pivot means privacy will now occupy a more prominent role within the overall Ethereum roadmap, which historically focused more on scalability, security, and decentralization.
Moving forward, the PSE has identified three main priorities to guide its efforts in fostering privacy:
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Private Transfers: The team’s approach to private transfers will leverage a project called Plasma Fold, which merges the foundational Plasma technology with advanced zero-knowledge folding techniques. Although traditional Plasma-based Layer 2s have seen diminished relevance due to newer rollup technologies, Plasma Fold aims to innovate by enabling the aggregation of zk-proofs. This development could lead to the creation of more private Layer 2 solutions, ensuring users’ transaction details remain confidential while maintaining verification efficiency.
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Private Governance: Most decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) within Ethereum currently operate under a transparent voting mechanism, which can expose voters to peer pressure and reputational risks. The PSE intends to develop private voting protocols to counter these issues, allowing for democratic engagement without the drawbacks of transparency. A future report titled “State of Private Voting 2025” will provide insights into current initiatives and progress in this area.
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Confidential DeFi: The transparency inherent in blockchain technology poses challenges for institutional investors, who often face legal and competitive pressures to maintain confidentiality in their transactions. The PSE aims to devise privacy protocols that will enable institutional players to engage in blockchain-based assets discreetly. This effort is critical for fostering greater institutional participation in decentralized finance (DeFi) and reducing barriers to entry.
Though the rebranding of PSE signals a new emphasis on privacy, the initiative’s commitment to scalability remains intact. Future projects, including those like Plasma Fold, continue to aim at not just enhancing privacy but also boosting Ethereum’s overall efficiency. The intersection of scaling and privacy will remain a focal point, ensuring that as advancements are made in one area, they do not preclude developments in the other.
With this restructured vision, the Privacy Stewards for Ethereum signify a major shift towards addressing the crucial dimension of privacy, potentially redefining how Ethereum users interact with its growing ecosystem.
