Ethereum Foundation Launches ‘Privacy Cluster’ to Advance On-Chain Privacy

The Ethereum Foundation has announced the formation of a new “Privacy Cluster” — a group of 47 researchers, engineers, and cryptographers from across the blockchain industry dedicated to developing privacy solutions at the Ethereum layer-1 level. The initiative underscores Ethereum’s renewed focus on privacy-preserving technology as governments and corporations expand digital surveillance.

• The Privacy Cluster unites 47 blockchain professionals under the Ethereum Foundation.
• It will develop protocol-level privacy tools, such as private payments and decentralized identities.
• The team will collaborate with the Privacy Stewards for Ethereum (PSE) initiative.
• Upcoming developments include zero-knowledge infrastructure and confidential transfers.
• The move comes amid global surveillance laws and rising privacy concerns in 2025.

The Ethereum Foundation has officially launched the Privacy Cluster, a specialized working group tasked with integrating privacy technology directly into Ethereum’s base layer. Announced on Wednesday, the team consists of 47 experts from various sectors of the blockchain industry — including cryptography, smart contract development, and cybersecurity — all focused on creating privacy-preserving mechanisms for Ethereum users.

According to the Foundation, the cluster’s mission is to design and implement protocol-level privacy enhancements, such as private payments, confidential decentralized identity (DID) systems, and methods to protect user data at the node level. This marks a significant step for Ethereum, which has long faced criticism for the public visibility of all transactions and wallet data on its blockchain.

The Privacy Cluster will collaborate closely with the Privacy Stewards for Ethereum (PSE) — a research and development initiative introduced in September. Together, they aim to roll out technologies that make Ethereum transactions more secure and private without compromising decentralization.

Some of the core technologies being developed include:

• Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) — cryptographic systems that verify transactions or identities without exposing underlying data.
• Confidential transfers via the PlasmaFold layer-2 network, enabling secure peer-to-peer transactions.
• Mechanisms to prevent remote procedure call (RPC) nodes from transmitting sensitive metadata that could be used to track users.

Privacy, a founding principle of the cypherpunk movement that inspired Bitcoin and Ethereum, has regained importance as digital surveillance expands. The Foundation emphasized that preserving user anonymity is essential for freedom and innovation in decentralized networks.

This renewed emphasis on privacy comes amid rising government scrutiny and AI-driven data monitoring. Global legislative pushes — including the European Union’s proposed “Chat Control” law that would grant authorities access to private communications — have alarmed privacy advocates. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been outspoken in opposing such measures.

“You cannot make society secure by making people insecure,” Buterin warned, adding, “We all deserve privacy and security, without inevitably hackable backdoors, for our private communications.”

Recent events highlight these risks. In early October, Discord suffered a significant data breach where hackers stole and attempted to ransom a database containing government-issued IDs and user photos from an age-verification system, potentially affecting over 2.1 million users. Incidents like these reinforce the Ethereum community’s belief that decentralized infrastructure is essential for protecting user data.

As global digital surveillance intensifies, Ethereum’s Privacy Cluster may set the standard for how blockchain networks can evolve to balance transparency and privacy — combining the benefits of public ledgers with next-generation encryption and zero-knowledge tools.

Final Thought

The Ethereum Foundation’s new Privacy Cluster represents more than a technical upgrade — it’s a philosophical reaffirmation of user sovereignty in the age of surveillance. As centralized systems continue to fail at protecting data, Ethereum’s move toward built-in privacy at the protocol level could redefine how individuals interact with Web3 securely and freely.