Zama CEO Predicts 95% of Blockchain Transactions to Be Encrypted with FHE for Global Adoption

Rand Hindi, CEO and co-founder of Zama, a company specializing in Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), has made a bold prediction regarding the future of privacy in blockchain technology. Hindi asserts that privacy is not a fleeting trend in crypto but a fundamental requirement for widespread adoption across finance, government, and other sectors. He forecasts that confidential blockchain transactions will follow a similar adoption curve to HTTPS, eventually leading to 95% of all transactions being encrypted with FHE.

"One question I get a lot is whether privacy will just be a fad like all other narratives in crypto. The answer is NO. It's here to stay, because it's needed for global adoption of blockchain, whether in finance, governments and elsewhere," Hindi stated in a recent tweet. He added, "Confidential blockchain transactions will follow the same adoption curve as HTTPS, with 95% of transaction eventually encrypted with FHE." This vision underscores a future where privacy is a default feature, not an optional extra.

The need for privacy stems from the inherently public nature of most blockchain transactions, which can expose users to surveillance, front-running (MEV), and theft. FHE offers a solution by enabling computations on encrypted data without ever decrypting it, thereby preserving confidentiality even on public ledgers. This capability is crucial for meeting regulatory requirements and fostering institutional trust in blockchain systems.

Zama, under Hindi's leadership, has been at the forefront of developing FHE solutions for blockchain, recently achieving unicorn status after raising $57 million in a Series B funding round. The company's technology allows for the creation of private smart contracts and confidential transactions, addressing a significant barrier to mainstream blockchain integration. This advancement is expected to unlock new use cases in decentralized finance (DeFi), confidential stablecoin payments, and secure identity verification.

While FHE was historically challenged by performance limitations, recent breakthroughs have made it increasingly practical for real-world applications. Zama's work aims to make FHE accessible to developers, enabling them to build encrypted decentralized applications. The long-term outlook suggests that FHE will become a foundational layer, transforming how data is handled across various digital ecosystems.