Ethereum Foundation’s Privacy Team Rebrands as PSE, Unveils End-to-End Onchain Privacy Roadmap

Ethereum's privacy pioneers just dropped a bombshell—the core research team has officially rebranded as Privacy & Scaling Explorations (PSE) and unveiled a comprehensive roadmap for end-to-end onchain privacy.

Building the Invisible Infrastructure

PSE isn't just changing its name—it's doubling down on developing privacy-preserving technologies that could finally bring true financial confidentiality to Ethereum's transparent ledger. The team's working on everything from zero-knowledge proofs to secure multi-party computation.

The Privacy Paradox Solved?

Their roadmap outlines a phased approach to implementing privacy layers that maintain auditability while protecting user data. Think encrypted transactions without sacrificing blockchain's core transparency benefits—a delicate balance that's eluded most projects.

Wall Street's watching from the sidelines, still trying to figure out how to monetize transparency while the crypto natives are busy building actual privacy solutions. The revolution won't be centralized—but it might just be encrypted.

From Cryptography Lab to Privacy Stewardship Mission

PSE abandoned its previous approach of pursuing “cool tech” for concrete problem-solving focused on ecosystem outcomes rather than internal projects.

The rebrand includes website updates to pse.dev and restructured team goals with particular emphasis on subtraction by default and problem-driven resource allocation.

The strategy involves continuous problem mapping, execution decisions across lead-support-monitor engagement levels, and public communication through newsletters, community calls, and working groups.

PSE draws inspiration from Protocol and EcoDev announcement simplicity while addressing feedback from Vitalik Buterin, Silviculture Society, and EF management.

Key initiatives include PlasmaFold development for private transfers using PCD and folding, targeting proof-of-concept by Devconnect.

The team continues to develop the Kohaku privacy wallet, focusing on ZK account recovery frameworks and keystore implementation for stealth addresses.

Private governance efforts focus on a “State of private voting 2025” report while collaborating with Aragon on protocol integrations.

The Institutional Privacy Task Force launches with the EF EcoDev Enterprise team to unblock adoption through privacy specifications and proof-of-concepts.

Another key aspect of this new direct is PSE’s data portability. It tracks advances in TLSNotary development for production-ready zkTLS protocols, while building SDKs that enable seamless integration across mobile, server, and browser platforms.

Additionally, network privacy initiatives include Private RPC working groups, ORAM solution integration for privacy-preserving state reads, and sphinx mixing protocol implementation for broadcast privacy.

The team has stated that it will methodically study ORAM and PIR state-of-the-art techniques while translating research into practical wallet and browser experiences.

Industry Experts Warn Public Ledgers Threaten Mass Adoption

The privacy push addresses growing concerns from industry veterans about Ethereum’s transparency model.

In an interview with Cryptonews in August, British Gold Trust’s Petro Golovko argues public blockchains expose salaries, business deals, and balance sheets, making crypto“

Golovko compares current blockchain transparency to the pre-SSL internet, when users refused to enter credit card numbers due to a lack of encryption.

He maintains that crypto remains stuck in this vulnerable phase, preventing the scaling that transformed e-commerce into a $6 trillion industry.

Imagine if your bank account had a public URL. That’s the reality of crypto today, and why it "will never scale beyond a niche,” says Petro Golovko.#Crypto #Blockchain #Privacy https://t.co/qQJ1BJInWt

Institutional adoption concerns center on the exposure of trade secrets and the competitive disadvantage resulting from visible treasury movements.

Golovko warns that no board will approve systems exposing supply chains or financial operations globally, limiting crypto to speculation rather than serious commerce.

Vitalik Buterin’s April privacy advocacy stemmed from similar concerns about AI-driven surveillance and data misuse eroding personal autonomy.

His roadmap outlined four areas for enhancing privacy: anonymous payments, application-level privacy, secure data access, and network obfuscation.

The Ethereum co-founder advocated for wallets to integrate tools like Railgun and Privacy Pools, creating “” that enable private-by-default transactions.

He emphasized that separate addresses per dApp WOULD eliminate traceable links between applications while maintaining usability.

European regulatory pressure adds urgency to the development of privacy.

Community member Eugenio Reggianini outlined GDPR compliance practices that require personal data to remain off-chain, with blockchain nodes relaying only encrypted references or proofs, rather than identifiable information.

Looking forward, the team aims to accelerate ecosystem adoption through community initiatives with privacy and robust security at the center of its decentralized identity systems.