2026-01-20 18:40:31

Privacy projects from 2020-2021 are coming back with better teams, cleaner execution, & way less greed.

Same ideas. Different packaging. Timing might actually be right this time.

Fhenix: privacy at execution layer, not just transaction masking. Smart contracts run on encrypted data.

Inco Network: full stack privacy infrastructure backed by a16z & Coinbase. Lightning testnet already live.

Temple: compliance first privacy for institutional trading. Confidentiality without breaking audibility.

These aren't moonshot gambles anymore.

They're solving the problem that killed adoption in the prior cycle: nobody wants their wallet activity public when real money moves onchain.

The first wave of privacy tech was too early & too greedy. Founders raised at stupid valuations, shipped half baked products, then disappeared when the market turned.

This wave is different. Better infrastructure. Institutional backing. Actual use cases beyond hiding your degen plays.

If privacy doesn't work this cycle, it's not coming back..

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