Public blockchains have long struggled with a tradeoff between transparency and confidentiality. Sui is now attempting to remove that tradeoff altogether.
The network is laying the groundwork for native private transactions that would be embedded directly into its base layer, with a target launch set for 2026.
Key Takeaways
Sui plans to add native, protocol-level private transactions by 2026.
Privacy will be enabled by default, without opt-ins, while remaining compatible with regulation.
The design uses established cryptography to preserve speed and low fees.
Sui aims to support institutional payments without sacrificing scalability.
Rather than bolting privacy on as an optional feature, the upgrade is designed to make confidentiality a default property of the network. Adeniyi Abiodun has explained that users won’t need to activate special modes or rely on external tools. Transactions will simply be private by design, while still remaining compatible with regulatory and institutional requirements.
A different take on blockchain privacy
Most privacy-focused solutions in crypto rely on add-ons: separate pools, optional mixers, or specialized contracts that users must consciously opt into. Sui is taking a fundamentally different path. Privacy will live at the protocol level, woven into how transactions are processed rather than layered on top.
Under this model, transaction details are visible only to the sender and recipient, while the network continues to validate activity without exposing sensitive information. The goal is to support confidential payments and applications without fragmenting liquidity or degrading performance.
Importantly, Sui is not experimenting with untested cryptography. The design draws on privacy primitives that have been studied and refined over several years, allowing the network to focus on integration rather than invention. That approach is meant to preserve Sui’s reputation for speed and efficiency.
Why institutions are paying attention
This shift is closely tied to how large financial players view blockchains. Institutions have shown growing interest in on-chain settlement and tokenized payments, but public visibility of transactions remains a major obstacle. Sui’s approach aims to offer a middle ground: data protection for users and counterparties, paired with structures that still allow compliance, auditing, and oversight.
Instead of treating privacy as an adversarial feature, the network is framing it as a requirement for regulated adoption. In that sense, Sui is positioning itself less as a retail-focused chain and more as infrastructure for large-scale financial use cases.
Future-proofing in a changing cryptographic landscape
Beyond regulation, longer-term security concerns are shaping design choices across the industry. Advances in quantum computing have raised alarms about the resilience of elliptic curve cryptography, which underpins wallet security on most blockchains.
Some analysts, including Charles Edwards, have warned that the industry is underestimating how quickly quantum threats could materialize. Others, such as Michael Saylor, argue that cryptographic systems will adapt and may even be strengthened over time.
While Sui’s privacy roadmap is not a direct quantum defense, it reflects a broader mindset: protocols are increasingly being built with future risks in mind, not just today’s attack vectors.
Performance as a non-negotiable
Crucially, Sui is insisting that privacy should not slow the network down. The blockchain has already demonstrated sustained real-world throughput of around 866 transactions per second without artificial stress testing, reinforcing its claims around scalability.
By treating privacy as an additional layer rather than a performance sacrifice, Sui is attempting to prove that confidentiality, speed, and low costs can coexist on a public blockchain. If successful, the 2026 upgrade could mark a meaningful shift in how regulated payments are handled on-chain – not through compromise, but through architectural redesign.
