Recently, I've been pondering a question: why do we have no privacy in traditional finance, but on the blockchain, everything is more transparent?

My recent experience applying for a mortgage deeply moved me. The teller flipping through transaction records could see every one of my expenses clearly. At that moment, I wondered—where I spend my money, does it really need to be known by so many people?

This actually exposes two extreme dilemmas in the current financial system:

On one side are traditional banks, which hold all your transaction details, making privacy essentially nonexistent. On the other side are public blockchains, where, once an address is linked to an identity, your asset scale and transfer records are transparent to the entire network. In both cases, we are essentially exposed.

This is also why privacy layer solutions are beginning to be valued. The core idea of zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology is simple: I can prove that I have the ability to repay a loan and pass compliance checks without revealing the specific details of my account. It’s like saying "I can prove I have enough money," without saying "where I spent my money."

A leading privacy project is building a compliant privacy layer with this approach—meeting institutional risk control needs (you are compliant) while preserving the last bit of dignity for users (I don’t look at your details). Such a balance does not exist in traditional finance.

As institutional participation accelerates, the demand for this kind of privacy infrastructure will become increasingly urgent. Some key plans for next year are expected to show progress in this direction. Privacy is not anti-compliance; it’s about ensuring trust while allowing participants to each get what they need.