Zama

Zama is an open-source cryptography protocol that enables developers to build confidential smart contracts on top of any blockchain. It uses Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to keep data encrypted at all times—even during processing—while maintaining public verifiability. This means sensitive financial data, token amounts, and transaction details can remain private while still being processed on public blockchains.

The protocol works by adding a confidential layer to existing L1 and L2 chains, using coprocessors to handle the intensive FHE computations off-chain. Developers write standard Solidity contracts but use special encrypted data types (like euint) to mark which elements should remain private. The system is designed to be scalable, with current throughput of 20 transactions per second per chain and roadmap plans for 1,000+ TPS through specialized hardware.

Zama is particularly valuable for DeFi teams building applications that require financial privacy or regulatory compliance, such as confidential token swaps, private lending protocols, sealed-bid auctions, and institutional-grade banking solutions. It enables use cases that were previously impossible on transparent blockchains while maintaining the decentralization and verifiability that makes blockchain technology valuable.