Vitalik: ZK Payments Should Become the Next Standard for Mass Adoption of Crypto Payments
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a research article, clearly stating that zero-knowledge (ZK) payments should become a necessary standard for the mass adoption of crypto payments.
He pointed out that current crypto payments are still in the "pseudonymous" stage, and the "glass house" characteristic of blockchain is the main obstacle to replacing traditional fiat payments. In the future, there must be a shift towards "default privacy," especially in the upcoming "agent era," where AI Agents will require privacy payment services.
Vitalik suggested using points through recursive SNARKs and ZK APIs to achieve privacy payments on Layer 2 with the same speed and cost as transparent transactions, while supporting "selective disclosure" and "innocence proofs," balancing user privacy with anti-money laundering compliance.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Vitalik has previously emphasized the importance of privacy in his writings, and this time he focuses on "default privacy" rather than optional privacy, continuing his thoughts on Ethereum's long-term roadmap—from early transparent public chain experiments to mature financial infrastructure. Recursive SNARKs are a long-term technological direction he has promoted, already implemented in several Layer 2 projects.
In terms of capital pathways, Ethereum Layer 2 projects are concentrating resources on optimizing ZK proof systems, attracting institutional funds and enterprise users that have been hesitant due to compliance and privacy concerns through default privacy, while providing native support for AI Agent payment scenarios, forming a closed-loop appeal of "privacy + compliance + low cost."
Similar to early privacy coin attempts like Monero and Zcash, and the compliance path for privacy technologies under the EU's MiCA regulations, Ethereum is currently in the mid-to-late stage of transitioning from a "transparent public chain" to a "privacy-friendly financial layer," with ZK payments becoming a key competitive differentiator.
Structural judgment: Essentially, this belongs to the reconstruction of the industrial chain. Vitalik's push for ZK payments to become the default standard will shift blockchain payments from public transparency to privacy-first, with the mechanism aimed at resolving the privacy paradox for AI Agents and institutional users, balancing regulatory demands through selective disclosure, and promoting the migration of capital and users from the traditional financial system to Ethereum's privacy financial layer, accelerating the global mainstreaming of crypto payments.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Transparency is an early experiment; privacy is the standard for mature finance.
Big business cannot be done in a glass house; default privacy can accommodate trillions in funds.
Whoever makes privacy the default first will lock in the entry point for payments in the AI agent era.