a16z names privacy as the main direction of the crypto market in 2026 - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, the future

# a16z names privacy the main trend in the crypto market in 2026

Privacy is the most important characteristic necessary for the development of global finance on the blockchain, so in 2026 it will become a key protective barrier for the crypto industry. This is stated in the a16z crypto blog.

According to the authors of the publication, until recently, confidentiality was a secondary issue for most protocols. However, now this quality can distinguish a project among many others.

“Privacy performs another important function: it creates an ‘on-chain concentration’ effect — a kind of network effect of anonymity,” — the note says.

Experts added that transferring assets between open blockchains has become an easy task, but “sharing secrets” is still complex, as transitioning between private and public environments can lead to leakage of sensitive metadata.

Compared to many undifferentiated new protocols, where fees are likely to drop almost to zero due to competition, anonymous projects will have a “stronger light effect,” according to a16z.

“When users are on public blockchains, it is easy for them to perform transactions across different chains. […] In private networks, on the other hand, choice matters much more, because once they join one, they are less likely to switch to another. This creates a situation where the winner takes all,” — the company emphasized.

Message Encryption

In the era of developing quantum technologies and other cybersecurity threats, protecting user correspondence in messengers is an especially important area, the blog authors assert.

Currently, the main problem of messaging services is the centralized server infrastructure and excessive trust in private organizations.

“Such servers are easy targets for governments, which can shut them down, create backdoors, or force disclosure of personal data. […] Communication does not require a single intermediary company. Open protocols are needed for messaging, allowing us to operate without trust,” — explained in a16z.

The path to this lies through network decentralization: without private servers, without a separate application, but with open source code.

According to company experts, confidentiality should become a core service rather than an addition to other products. This is especially important for the financial sector and healthcare, where cryptographic guarantees for protecting personal data are necessary.

“We need ‘secrets as a service’: new technologies that provide programmable, built-in access rules to information, client-side encryption, decentralized key management. […] And all this should be controlled on the blockchain,” — added the experts.

Countering Threats

The wave of exploits in 2025 revealed the limitations of the modern security model based on audits even for mature, well-tested protocols, noted in a16z.

To achieve maturity, DeFi protection must shift from pattern recognition to analyzing properties at the design level — from a “maximum effort” strategy to a “principled approach.”

Thus, global security properties will be formally defined and ensured both before and after blockchain deployment.

“Now, instead of assuming we will find all errors, we will ensure compliance with key security properties in the code itself, automatically canceling any transactions that violate them,” — the report authors summarized.

Let us remind you that at the end of 2025, a16z named future promising directions for the crypto market, including confidentiality.