[English] a16z Observation: Privacy Trends in 2026 as Seen by Frontline Construction Workers

Chainfeeds Summary:

The once-popular phrase "Code is Law" is evolving into "Spec is Law".

Article source:

https://x.com/a16zcrypto/status/2008611265565127086

Article Author:

a16z

Opinion:

Ali Yahya: Privacy brings a deeper effect: the "privacy network effect," especially now that performance competition no longer constitutes a differentiating advantage. In a completely public world, cross-chain communication is extremely easy. Migrating from one chain to another is virtually costless thanks to various bridging protocols. But once privacy is introduced, this free migration no longer holds true; bridging tokens is easy, but bridging secrets is extremely difficult. When users move between private and public zones, on-chain observers, mempoolers, and network traffic analysts can all potentially re-identify users through metadata such as transaction time, size, and relevance. Even switching between two privacy chains cannot completely prevent information leakage. In contrast, new public chains lacking differentiation are likely to be forced to compress transaction fees to near zero in fierce competition. Blockchains with privacy capabilities, on the other hand, can create a stronger network effect. [Original text in English]

Shane Mac: As quantum computing becomes a reality, many encryption-based messaging applications (such as Apple, Signal, and WhatsApp) have done a lot of work on quantum resistance, and these efforts are commendable. However, the problem is that all mainstream messaging applications ultimately rely on a private server operated by a single organization. These servers are precisely the targets that governments can most easily pressure, shut down, implant backdoors, or forcibly demand data from. The essence of a private server is "trust me." Without a private server, it means you don't have to trust me. Communication doesn't need a centralized company in the middle. Messaging systems need open protocols that don't require trust in any single entity. There is only one path to this: network decentralization. [Original text in English]

Adeniyi.sui: Behind every model, intelligent agent, and automated system lies a fundamental dependency: data. However, most data pipelines today, both input and output to models, are opaque, variable, and unauditable. This might be acceptable for some consumer applications, but for industries like finance and healthcare, protecting sensitive data is a rigid requirement. This is also one of the main obstacles for institutions pushing forward with the tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA). The question is: how can we achieve secure, compliant, automated, and globally interoperable innovation while protecting privacy? There are many paths, but the core issue remains: data access control. Who controls sensitive data? How does data flow? Who (or what) can access it, and under what conditions? Without native access control, any institution wishing to protect data privacy can only choose centralized services or self-built systems—this is not only costly and time-consuming but also severely limits the ability of traditional financial institutions to leverage their on-chain data management advantages. As intelligent agent systems begin to autonomously browse, trade, and make decisions, users and institutions no longer need best-effort trust, but rather cryptographic-level deterministic guarantees. This is precisely why I believe we need Secrets-as-a-Service: a new technological paradigm that provides programmable, native data access rules; client-side encryption; and decentralized key management that clearly defines who can decrypt which data under what conditions and for how long, with these rules enforced on-chain.