Dash integrates the Zcash privacy pool as the privacy narrative heats up
Dash, a Layer-1 blockchain protocol with privacy protection features, announced on Thursday the integration of Zcash's “Garden” gated pool into the Dash Evolution chain, supporting smart contract functionality on the L1 network.
The merger will go live following the completion of a cybersecurity audit and will begin in March, according to an announcement made to Cointelegraph.
Initially, the integration will support ZEC basic transfers from one party to another on the evolutionary chain, with subsequent upgrades adding Orchard's privacy features to a series of real-world assets (RWAs), the announcement said.
The price of DASH (DASH), the network's native token, increased more than 125% in January. Dash briefly hit a local high of $96 on the Binance crypto exchange before returning to current levels.
Onchain privacy protocols and privacy blockchain tokens gained momentum in 2025 and early 2026, with proponents of the technology framing it as a response to financial surveillance by governments and corporations.
Related: Starknet Taps EY Nightfall to Bring Institutional Privacy to Ethereum Rails
Lack of privacy is preventing crypto payments, the technology is on fire
According to Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, “Lack of privacy may be the missing link in the adoption of crypto payments.
Businesses will not adopt blockchain technology unless privacy protection devices protect payments, which contain sensitive information about workers' compensation, CZ said.
Transaction data can reveal information about key partnerships and other trade secrets to competitors, Avidan Abitbol, a former business development specialist at Caspa's cryptocurrency project, told Cointelegraph.
Agata Ferreira, assistant professor at the Warsaw University of Technology, argues that true financial privacy comes from a combination of discipline, culture and code, rather than simply protecting onchain metadata.
User anonymity can still be violated, and ownership of privacy tokens can be determined through forensic analysis and law enforcement investigation, according to critics of the technology such as author and Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Saifedian Amos.
In January 2026, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the emirate's financial regulator, banned privacy tokens including ZEC and XMR (XMR), the parent of Monero's privacy protocol.
The ban does not prevent citizens from holding the tokens, but it prevents the regulated crypto exchanges from selling the tokens to new users, which shows the tension between state regulators and privacy technology.
Magazine: 2026 is the year of practical privacy in crypto: Canton, Zcash and more.
