Zama's launch this time marks the moment when private assets finally start having real DeFi use cases. Previously, on-chain privacy was mostly limited to transfers, holdings, and hiding balances. But if funds can only be hidden and not used to generate returns, they’re more like a security tool rather than a financial asset. With Zama introducing cUSDC this time around: Users can convert USDC into cUSDC, keeping their balances, transfer amounts, and asset holdings private, while still being verifiable on-chain. On June 23, the Steakhouse Confidential USDC Prime vault will open for deposits. This is a private USDC yield vault built on cUSDC, Morpho, Steakhouse, and ZamaProtocol. In other words, private funds can stay hidden while also entering vaults to earn yields. This is what makes Confidential DeFi truly exciting. Funds can be privatized and also financialized. If on-chain finance is to serve a larger scale of individuals, institutions, and real-world assets in the future, privacy can’t remain optional forever—it will become part of the infrastructure.