Taurus Releases Open Source Privacy Tech for Stablecoins, Starts With Circle's USDC
Taurus’s stablecoin privacy layer uses zero-knowledge proofs and was built atop the Aztec Network.

What to know:
- Taurus is rolling out a zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) privacy layer for stablecoins, starting with Circle’s USDC.
- It continues open source work done by Taurus involving ZKP privacy enhancements for security tokens aimed at banks and financial institutions, released earlier this year.
Taurus, the Swiss crypto custody technology firm that counts Deutsche Bank among its customers, is rolling out a zero-knowledge proofs
privacy layer for stablecoins, starting with Circle’s USDC.Taurus’s zero-knowledge carapace for stablecoins, a way of secretly sharing details about private data using mathematical proofs, was built on the privacy-centric Aztec Network. It continues work done on ZKP privacy enhancements for security tokens aimed at banks and financial institutions, released by Taurus earlier this year.
Unlike everyday stablecoin transactions, the application of ZKP tech means balances and transfers are encrypted and only readable by authorized parties such as issuers and regulators. This prevents unauthorized parties from monitoring wallets, reverse-engineering investment strategies, or physically targeting high-value users, according to a press release on Thursday.
Stablecoins are one of the hottest areas within crypto right now. A landmark bill establishing a legal framework for the issuance and oversight of stablecoins was recently passed by the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, stablecoin supply has surged past $250 billion, a 1200% growth since 2020.
The ZKP technology, which is open source, brings on-chain privacy to both the cash-leg and the security-leg of digital transactions, Taurus said.
“We showed that it’s possible to protect the privacy and security of stablecoin users while retaining the features of industry-standard stablecoins,” said Jean-Philippe Aumasson, chief security officer at Taurus in a statement. “This addresses concerns that we’ve repeatedly heard from banks looking at issuing stablecoins, central banks, and regulators.”
Read more: Crypto Custodian Taurus Expands Footprint to Turkey Through BankPozitif Collaboration
Ian Allison
Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.
