Private Blockchain Payments Arrive on Public Rails

StarkWare implements privacy infrastructure to unlock confidential institutional finance on Starknet and Ethereum

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Starknet is bringing enterprise-grade privacy to public blockchain infrastructure. Through the integration of Nightfall, an open-source zero-knowledge privacy layer built by EY, Starknet will enable institutions to make private payments and DeFi transactions on-chain - without sacrificing compliance, scalability or composability.

This marks a major breakthrough for institutional blockchain adoption. For the first time, enterprises will be able to use public blockchain rails for private B2B payments, treasury management and tokenized assets, while maintaining confidentiality and regulatory oversight.

"Blockchains can offer every institution the equivalent of a private superhighway for stablecoins and tokenized deposits," said Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare. "With Nightfall, Starknet will show how that future actually works."

What this unlocks

With Nightfall integrated into Starknet, institutions will be able to:

• Execute private B2B and cross-border payments
• Manage corporate treasuries with confidential balances
• Hold and transfer tokenized assets 24/7
• Engage in confidential DeFi - including lending, swaps, and yield strategies - directly on Ethereum

All transactions remain private by default, while supporting selective disclosure, auditability and KYC, making them suitable for real-world institutional use.

Why this matters

Public blockchains have long promised efficiency, liquidity and global reach - but transparency has made them impractical for institutions. Exposed balances, counterparties and strategies create compliance and competitive risks that keep enterprise capital on the sidelines.

Nightfall removes that barrier.

"Privacy is the missing ingredient for large-scale enterprise payments on-chain," said Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader. "The only scalable way to achieve it is on a public, shared blockchain built on open standards. This integration gets us there."

Built for scale, designed for compliance

Starknet already delivers high throughput, low costs, Ethereum composability and access to deep DeFi liquidity. Nightfall adds enterprise-grade privacy, identity-bound addresses and compliant selective disclosure, enabling institutions to operate confidentially while meeting regulatory requirements.

As stablecoin and tokenized payment volumes surge - surpassing $10 trillion in adjusted settlement volume in 2025 - these capabilities are becoming essential infrastructure for global finance.

Nightfall enables selective disclosure by cryptographically binding blockchain addresses to enterprise certificates, allowing banks and corporates to transact privately while preserving audit and compliance controls.

A full-circle moment for blockchain privacy

Ben-Sasson, who co-founded the privacy-focused Zcash blockchain before establishing StarkWare, described the integration as a milestone for the industry.

"Privacy was once a countercultural idea," he said. "Now we're scaling privacy technology developed by EY - an icon of the establishment - on a public blockchain. That's a full-circle moment, and it shows how far this technology has come."

Setting a new standard

Starknet's architecture allows private Nightfall transactions to interact seamlessly with Ethereum and DeFi, creating what Ben-Sasson describes as a new benchmark: privacy that supports KYC, auditability and controlled transparency designed for institutional scrutiny at global scale.

To support adoption, StarkWare is hosting educational events worldwide, bringing institutions together with builders to explore how confidentiality, risk management, compliance and public blockchains can finally coexist.

Together, Starknet and Nightfall are redefining how institutional finance operates on-chain: private by default, compliant by design and built for the scale of global markets.

Contact:
[email protected]

About StarkWare 

StarkWare is a blockchain infrastructure company based on a class of cryptographic technologies, known as STARK proofs. It was invented by company CEO and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson with other computer scientists. StarkWare is a major contributor to Starknet, a permissionless decentralized, Layer 2 blockchain.

About Nightfall

Nightfall is a public domain-based privacy protocol that helps enable private transactions on Ethereum-compatible blockchains while preserving transparency, data immutability, and security. The technology uses Zero-Knowledge Proof rollups to bundle private transactions efficiently while maintaining near-instant finality without challenge periods.

About EY   

EY exists to build a better working world, to create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.   

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate. 

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.   

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.  

SOURCE StarkWare