Some time ago, Zcash became one of the hottest privacy coins due to its privacy features. Zama also focuses on privacy, but it takes a completely different approach: it’s building a privacy layer. In other words, Zama isn’t an independent privacy-focused L1 blockchain. Instead, it’s a privacy layer that can be stacked on different L1/L2s to provide privacy capabilities for applications. Zama started experimenting with this approach in DeFi, which is the most practical path forward. Back in June, Zama partnered with Morpho/Steakhouse to launch a private USDC yield platform. At the time, there was only one vault, one curator, and one asset. It looks like Zama’s approach is starting to take shape. Today, I saw news that it has expanded to 16 vaults and 5 curators (Steakhouse, Armitage by Wintermute, Flowdesk, RockawayX, Bitwise), and privacy assets now include private versions of cWBTC and cTGBP. Additionally, Zama has launched the Zama Swap protocol. This kind of application-layer privacy built on top of infrastructure is a model that institutions tend to prefer: adding privacy only at the application entry point on existing infrastructures like Ethereum L1 or L2. With this setup, institutions can stay invisible while engaging in DeFi—only they know the amounts and timing, without worrying about competitors, bots, or copy traders seeing their moves. Currently, Zama offers two privacy modes: 1. **Hybrid Vaults**: These allow depositors to store private tokens (like cUSDC/cUSDT) in existing vaults that are already live. Holdings won’t appear in public records. 2. **Exclusive Vaults**: These are fully confidential vaults with no regular deposit options. For now, this includes the private wBTC yield vault, which offers privacy benefits for wBTC holders.