Key Highlights
- Vitalik Buterin unveiled Kohaku, a privacy-focused framework for Ethereum.
- A live demo showed users can hide funds and use wallets with default privacy.
- Kohaku uses elliptic curve cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs to protect transactions and support compliance.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin introduced Kohaku, an open-source privacy framework built by independent developers with supportive contributions from the Ethereum Foundation (EF). The framework aims to improve how users protect their information and secure transactions on the Ethereum network.
During Devcon 2025, an annual developer event hosted by the Ethereum Foundation on November 16, Buterin explained that Ethereum is in the “very last mile stage” of fixing privacy problems and noted that the network “is still behind” where it should be in protecting user identities.
THE WORD IS OUT!
— privacypools (@0xprivacypools) November 16, 2025
huge congrats to @ethereumfndn, @VitalikButerin, @kassandraETH for demoing the Kohaku wallet.
onchain privacy is entering a new stage, and we’re honoured to be a part of it.
privacy, by default, right in the comfort of your wallet.
Ethereum is for privacy. pic.twitter.com/DisRovcNBu
How Kohaku brings simple and strong privacy tools
Buterin stressed that this stage needs more serious work from developers so users can feel safer. The Ethereum Foundation and other important ecosystem members are leading the project, and their goal is to create better privacy tools without depending on centralized companies.
Kohaku gives developers a set of simple building blocks they can use to make private wallets. The system may later include tools like mixnets for hiding network traffic and browsers powered by zero-knowledge technology.
In a live demo, Buterin showed how a Kohaku wallet can hide a user’s funds using Railgun. The idea is to allow wallets like MetaMask and Rainbow to have easy, opt-in privacy by default, so users do not need complicated steps to stay safe.
Moreover, the Kohaku GitHub page shows early packages for protocols such as Railgun and Privacy Pools, which help users obscure funds while showing “proof of innocence.” Privacy Pools, built by 0xbow, uses “association lists” that stop criminals from hiding their money among regular users, which is meant to tackle old compliance issues.
Buterin shared why it matters
Buterin shared his view on why privacy matters. He told the audience that “Privacy is freedom,” and added that people need space to live their lives without stress from governments, companies, or social groups.Kohaku uses temporary one-time addresses that hide the link between a sender and a receiver. A user creates a special master key, and when money is sent, the wallets generate a shared secret using elliptic curve cryptography. This secret creates a fresh address that only the receiver can control. The project supports zero-knowledge proofs so institutions can check the source of funds without exposing private data.
Last month, the Ethereum Foundation increased its privacy work by launching the Privacy Cluster, a group of 47 experts focusing on making privacy a main feature of Ethereum. It also renamed its Privacy and Scaling Explorations team to Privacy Stewards of Ethereum to focus on real problems like private voting and confidential DeFi.
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