OP Labs launches privacy SDK

Public blockchains work like open ledgers: every transfer is visible to everyone. OP Labs said this week it is trying to hide the sensitive parts without removing the audit trail. (decrypt.co) On April 21, 2026, OP Labs launched Privacy Boost, a software development kit, or SDK, for confidential transfers and decentralized-finance activity on Ethereum, starting on OP Mainnet. OP Labs is the company that contributes to the Optimism protocol. (coinness.com) (oplabs.co) The tool combines zero-knowledge proofs, which let a system prove something without revealing all the underlying data, with Trusted Execution Environments, or secure hardware enclaves, to keep amounts, identities and trading logic off the public ledger. OP Labs told Decrypt the system is built to keep activity auditable and compatible with know-your-customer checks. (decrypt.co) Ethereum scaling networks like OP Mainnet lower costs by processing transactions in batches and posting data back to Ethereum for security. The Optimism docs describe the OP Stack as a modular Ethereum Layer 2 rollup system that publishes Layer 2 transaction data to Ethereum. (docs.optimism.io) That design makes crypto cheaper to use, but it does not solve a separate problem for banks, funds and large companies: their wallets, balances and counterparties can still be exposed on a public chain. Karl Floersch, OP Labs’ co-founder and chief technology officer, told Decrypt that many institutions still see that level of transparency as unworkable. (decrypt.co) OP Labs is pitching Privacy Boost as a way to let firms use public-chain infrastructure without publishing customer identities, transaction sizes or trading strategies to competitors. The company said the software can be configured around enterprise know-your-customer rules and audit requirements. (panewslab.com) The launch lands as several blockchain projects chase the same institutional market with more controlled visibility. Decrypt reported that Canton has attracted large financial firms with permissioned data sharing, and Starknet has promoted private-transaction features in the Layer 2 market. (decrypt.co) OP Labs is also making the push during a weaker stretch for its token and business. Decrypt reported in March that OP Labs cut 20 jobs, and CoinGecko data showed OP trading around $0.12 this week after a steep one-year decline. (decrypt.co) (coingecko.com) For OP Labs, the bet is that public Ethereum infrastructure will be easier to sell to regulated firms if privacy becomes a built-in feature instead of a workaround. Privacy Boost puts that argument into code. (decrypt.co)