Paul Brody, Ernst & Young’s Global Blockchain leader and Enterprise Ethereum Alliance chairman, has shared his views on the midterm prospects of privacy developments within the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem. He highlights the significant progress made by the most advanced privacy-centric EVM networks over the past few years.

According to Brody, Ethereum’s privacy design has become 2,000 times more cost-effective. Modern privacy-oriented networks are now processing shielded transactions at a fraction of the cost compared to early prototypes demonstrated years ago. For example, Ernst & Young’s Nightfall platform spends just $0.05 for verification tooling that previously cost around $100 in gas fees eight years ago. Brody shared this insight in a guest thread for the Ethereum Foundation.

This improvement is not an isolated case. Other projects exploring zero-knowledge (ZK) computations—such as Aztec, COTI Network, and Miden—have also made notable advancements. These networks have achieved faster ZK-proof generation and significantly reduced gas consumption.

As a result, Brody expects zero-knowledge technology to become mainstream for both users and institutions leveraging Ethereum’s computational resources in the near future. He stated:

> “The whole mathematics of zero knowledge have improved at an immense speed. I’m confident that within 18-24 months, even relatively complex transactions will be cost efficient in high volumes for business users and consumers.”

Brody believes that the outcomes of these developments will surpass what permissioned blockchains have achieved so far, as those still remain traceable to the organizers of such private networks.

### Privacy and Anonymity Aren’t the Same Thing

Brody also emphasized that current privacy solutions are not aimed at achieving full anonymity. Instead, their main focus is to combat unfair competition rather than to obscure activities from regulators or researchers.

He added:

> “The most crucial moments here might happen next year: Nightfall, Aztec, and others are all deployed in test-net environments now, and I believe that 2026 will be a golden year for Ethereum privacy for both consumers and business users.”

As reported previously by U.Today, privacy remains one of the key narratives for Ethereum in 2025. In April 2025, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin gained attention with a privacy roadmap that outlines planned Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) enhancements focused on elevating privacy across the EVM ecosystem.

With these promising developments, the future of Ethereum privacy looks increasingly robust, offering improved cost efficiency and stronger privacy features to fuel widespread adoption.
https://u.today/2026-to-be-best-year-for-ethereum-privacy-heres-why