Brian Armstrong Says Privacy Transactions Are Coming to Base

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his team is moving closer toward making private stablecoin transactions possible on the Ethereum layer-2, Base, which could bring a much-needed boost to privacy on public blockchains.

“Base is building private transactions,” Armstrong said in a post to X on Tuesday, noting that Coinbase acquired crypto privacy platform Iron Fish in March to deliver on that mission.

Many respondents asked whether the privacy solution would mandate Know Your Client checks; however, Armstrong didn’t address those concerns, stating that more details would be shared soon.

Privacy-shielded crypto transactions are sought after by some as they protect user financial data, shield transactions from public scrutiny, and lower the risk of being targeted by hackers or scammers. 

However, some of the crypto industry’s leading privacy innovators have been fiercely prosecuted, including Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm. as well as the Samourai Wallet founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.

Iron Fish’s privacy solution isn’t fully private 

However, Base’s transactions may not be fully private if it is based on Iron Fish’s current implementation.

According to Iron Fish’s website, the platform uses zero-knowledge proofs and “view keys” to keep transactions private, while still allowing data to be disclosed if a tax authority or other enforcement agency requests information.