Railgun launches ‘plug-and-play’ privacy DeFi layer for Ethereum

ambcryptoPublicado a 2026-01-23Actualizado a 2026-01-23

Resumen

Railgun has launched 'Railgun_connect', a universal plug-and-play privacy layer for Ethereum that enables users to interact with DeFi applications directly from private, shielded addresses without unshielding funds. This breakthrough overcomes the limitations of legacy privacy protocols like Zcash and Tornado Cash, which only allowed users to hide balances but not use them in DeFi. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, it maintains decentralization and privacy. The protocol is seeing massive demand, with a record daily average of 326 shields and cumulative volume reaching $4.5 billion, a 100% year-on-year increase. Its native token, RAIL, also recovered 25% amid a broader privacy coin rally.

Railgun [RAIL] has hit a key milestone that could scale privacy for DeFi like never before. The privacy mania has been so loud on token price gains, but the underlying protocols haven’t been very useful or scalable until now.

From Zcash to Tornado Cash, users could only deposit funds and shield them (hide) from the public or explorers. You can only park the funds there with limited utility.

However, to swap into a DeFi or use a lending protocol, one had to unshield and move the funds, making it easy to correlate and track the activity – A zero usability apart from hiding balances that limits legacy privacy protocols.

Now, the Ethereum [ETH]-based project has successfully tested Railgun_connect on CowSwap, effectively allowing private wallets to use DeFi platforms without unshielding and moving funds.

The project said,

“RAILGUN_connect is a first-of-its-kind tool for privacy and is a huge leap in making private addresses as functional as public ones.”

The team billed the feature as a ‘universal plug-and-play’ that will ‘eliminate the heavy work needed to build an integration to use a DeFi application from a private balance.’

Railgun leverages zero-knowledge proofs for shielded transfers, so interactions with DeFi frontends don’t compromise decentralization or privacy.

Railgun traction hits record high

The push for DeFi privacy at scale aligns with Ethereum’s vision and increasing appetite for such solutions.

In fact, the number of shields per day for tracking private wallets has been rising sharply since 2025. In early 2026, the daily average shield hit a record high of 326, further confirming the massive demand for privacy.

Additionally, the cumulative volume on the privacy protocol reached a record $4.5 billion, up from $2.4 billion a year ago. This translated into nearly 100% growth, or 2x, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

The native governance token, RAIL, didn’t fall behind amid this growing network traction. In fact, after the pullback earlier in the week, the token recovered 25%.

This was part of a broader privacy coins rally after the E.U.-U.S. tensions eased, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff pause in favor of a potential Greenland deal.

Final Thoughts

Railgun unveiled Raingun_connect, a ‘plug and play’ feature to scale DeFi privacy
The privacy project has seen a record daily shield of 326 amid rising demand for privacy solutions.

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat is the key innovation that Railgun has introduced for DeFi privacy on Ethereum?

ARailgun has introduced Railgun_connect, a 'plug-and-play' privacy layer that allows private wallets to interact with DeFi platforms like CowSwap without unshielding and moving funds, making private addresses as functional as public ones.

QHow does Railgun_connect improve upon previous privacy protocols like Zcash and Tornado Cash?

AUnlike earlier protocols that only allowed users to deposit and shield funds with limited utility, Railgun_connect enables direct interaction with DeFi applications (e.g., swapping, lending) from shielded balances without compromising privacy or requiring unshielding.

QWhat technology does Railgun use to ensure privacy and decentralization in its interactions with DeFi?

ARailgun leverages zero-knowledge proofs for shielded transfers, ensuring that interactions with DeFi frontends do not compromise decentralization or user privacy.

QWhat recent milestones has Railgun achieved in terms of user adoption and volume?

ARailgun reached a record daily average shield of 326 private wallets in early 2026, and its volume grew nearly 100% year-on-year, reaching a cumulative $4.5 billion, up from $2.4 billion a year ago.

QHow did the native token RAIL perform amid growing network traction, and what external factor contributed to its rally?

ARAIL recovered 25% after a pullback earlier in the week, benefiting from a broader privacy coins rally driven by eased E.U.-U.S. tensions following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff pause in favor of a potential Greenland deal.

Lecturas Relacionadas

Zcash Suffers Historic Collapse As Billions Vanish From Market Value

Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, suffered a historic collapse in price, losing over 50% of its value in 24 hours and erasing billions from its market cap. The dramatic sell-off was triggered by the disclosure of a major vulnerability in the Zcash Orchard privacy pool that had remained undetected since May 2022. A security researcher, using AI, developed a proof-of-concept to generate counterfeit ZEC. While the bug was patched by June 2, Zcash's privacy design makes it impossible to verify if any fake coins were minted before the fix, fueling market panic and uncertainty. This event highlights the trade-off between privacy and transparency. In response, Shielded Labs is exploring a network upgrade to allow supply verification. Despite the crisis, proponents argue that the discovery by world-class security researchers demonstrates the network's commitment to proactive hardening and resilience.

bitcoinistHace 8 min(s)

Zcash Suffers Historic Collapse As Billions Vanish From Market Value

bitcoinistHace 8 min(s)

Has the 'Digital Gold' Narrative for BTC Failed?

**Title: Has the "Digital Gold" Narrative for Bitcoin Failed?** The article argues that Bitcoin's "digital gold" narrative remains valid despite a recent sharp price decline (from a peak near $126k in Oct 2025 to briefly under $61k in Feb 2026). It presents a long-term investment framework based on three core points: **1. Viewing Bitcoin as an Asset:** Bitcoin is presented as a superior potential store of value compared to gold. Key arguments are its absolute scarcity (21 million cap), superior portability, and transparent auditability via its public ledger. While acknowledging its current use in early, volatile stages (~3-4% global adoption), the author draws parallels to the early, disruptive phases of the internet and e-commerce. **2. Understanding the Recent Downturn:** The current ~50% correction is framed as a predictable, consensus-driven cycle following its post-halving peak (the 2024 halving preceded the Oct 2025 high). A crucial factor is a historic "changing of hands": the influx of new institutional buyers via ETFs allowed early, low-cost holders (miners, OG believers) to take profits. The author notes that while severe, Bitcoin's historical drawdowns (e.g., 93% in 2011, 77% in 2021-22) have been progressively smaller, suggesting maturing holder structure and decreasing volatility over time. **3. The Long-Term Perspective:** The long-term thesis hinges on Bitcoin capturing a portion of gold's market value. With Bitcoin's market cap at ~$1.4 trillion (at $70k) versus gold's ~$20 trillion, significant upside potential exists if the "digital gold" narrative is partially realized. However, the author strongly cautions that short-term risks remain, the bottom is unpredictable, and high volatility is inherent. The real risk is not Bitcoin failing but poor personal position management (over-leverage, wrong capital) and a lack of deep understanding, which can force investors out during severe downturns. The conclusion uses Amazon's 95% crash post-2000 dot-com bubble and subsequent 42x recovery as an analogy. The ultimate question is not if Bitcoin's price will rise, but if an investor's strategy and conviction can withstand the volatility to see the long-term play out. The recent divergence (gold up, Bitcoin down) is posed not as a narrative failure, but as potential evidence of this ongoing, painful transition from a speculative asset to a mainstream allocation.

marsbitHace 33 min(s)

Has the 'Digital Gold' Narrative for BTC Failed?

marsbitHace 33 min(s)

Has BTC's 'Digital Gold' Narrative Failed?

The article discusses Bitcoin's "digital gold" narrative, its recent price drop, and long-term outlook through the perspective of "Jason". It argues the narrative is not a failure but that Bitcoin represents a superior, new asset class due to its fixed supply (21 million), portability, and auditability. The piece compares its current ~3-4% global adoption rate to early internet/e-commerce, suggesting significant growth potential. Regarding the 2025-2026 price decline (from ~$126k to briefly under $61k), the author views it as a predictable, consensus-driven sell-off within Bitcoin's ~4-year cycle post-halving, exacerbated by a major "handover" from early, low-cost holders to new institutional buyers via ETFs. A key observation is that historical peak-to-trough drawdowns have lessened over time (e.g., 93% in 2011 to ~50% in 2026), indicating maturing volatility as holder structure changes. For the long term, the author uses a simple framework: Bitcoin's total market cap (~$1.4T at $70k) is only about 7% of gold's (~$20T). Even capturing 30-50% of gold's value would imply substantial upside. However, the article strongly cautions against viewing this as investment advice, emphasizing extreme volatility and the critical importance of risk management, position sizing, and deep fundamental understanding to survive severe drawdowns. It concludes by drawing a parallel to Amazon's 95% crash in 2000 and subsequent 42x recovery, stressing that the key is surviving market cycles to realize long-term potential.

链捕手Hace 44 min(s)

Has BTC's 'Digital Gold' Narrative Failed?

链捕手Hace 44 min(s)

From Code to Cognition: A Ten-Thousand-Word Guide to the Evolution of the Robot Brain

"From Code to Cognition: The Evolution of Robot Brains" The journey of robotic intelligence has shifted dramatically from manually coded systems to AI-driven brains. For decades, robots relied on layered software stacks—perception, state estimation, planning, control—each handcrafted. While predictable, they lacked adaptability. The 2010s saw deep learning revolutionize perception (e.g., object detection) and control (via reinforcement learning), but learned skills remained narrow. The arrival of Large Language Models (LLMs) marked a turning point. LLMs acted as high-level planners, interpreting natural language instructions and generating sequences of actions for traditional robotic systems to execute. However, true integration came with Visual-Language-Action (VLA) models, which fused vision, language, and motion prediction into a single network. Pioneered by models like RT-2 and open-source projects like OpenVLA, VLAs enable robots to reason and act directly from visual input and commands. The most advanced humanoid robots now employ a "dual-brain" architecture: a slow-thinking, large VLA (System 2) for reasoning and planning, and a fast-reacting, small network (System 1) for high-frequency motion control, sometimes with an even lower-level System 0 for balance. This split balances cognition with the physics of real-time movement. Computation is split between onboard hardware (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson) for safety-critical control loops and cloud/edge servers for non-critical tasks like learning and interfaces. A crucial driver is the open-source ecosystem—models like GR00T and OpenVLA allow startups to build upon pre-trained brains and fine-tune them with their own data, accelerating development. Despite progress, current systems struggle with recovery from errors, sample inefficiency, and long-horizon tasks. This has spurred the rise of **World Models**—neural networks that predict the consequences of actions. By simulating possible futures before acting (like NVIDIA Cosmos or Meta V-JEPA), robots can plan, recover, and generalize better. This represents the next frontier: shifting intelligence from learned reactions to an internal model of physics and cause-and-effect. The field is rapidly evolving. While not yet at its "ChatGPT moment," the convergence of cheaper hardware, scalable simulation, and world models points toward robots that are increasingly capable, adaptive, and useful. The question is shifting from "what can robots do?" to "what *should* they do?"

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

From Code to Cognition: A Ten-Thousand-Word Guide to the Evolution of the Robot Brain

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

AI Bubble Is Bursting

The AI Bubble is Bursting: A Necessary Purge on the Path to Ubiquitous Intelligence Market volatility has reignited debates about an AI bubble, with figures like Ray Dalio pointing to high valuations. However, this parallels the dot-com bubble, which, despite its crash, laid the physical infrastructure for today's internet era. The current AI investment frenzy, with tech giants planning trillions in infrastructure spending far outstripping current AI application revenues, appears similarly imbalanced. This 'bubble' is seen as an inevitable phase for a disruptive technology, paying the "innovation tax." Critically, AI inference costs have plummeted over 99.7% since 2023, making intelligence nearly free at the margin. This hasn't reduced spending but has instead unlocked massive new demand, as seen in enterprise AI cloud expenditure tripling. This follows the Jevons Paradox: efficiency gains lead to greater total consumption. The market is now entering a cleansing phase, weeding out speculative ventures lacking real moats. The deeper shift is a move from capital expenditure (CapEx) on hardware to value creation in operational expenditure (OpEx) through AI applications that solve real industry problems. While infrastructure valuations are high, rapid earnings growth from widespread AI adoption across sectors—from manufacturing and finance to law and healthcare—may digest these valuations over time. Ultimately, this creative destruction will leave behind robust infrastructure and optimized models, cheaply powering an AI-augmented future for all industries, much as the internet became indispensable after its own bubble burst. The core productive potential remains undiminished.

链捕手Hace 1 hora(s)

Trading

Spot

Futuros

Artículos destacados

Cómo comprar LAYER

¡Bienvenido a HTX.com! Hemos hecho que comprar Solayer (LAYER) sea simple y conveniente. Sigue nuestra guía paso a paso para iniciar tu viaje de criptos.Paso 1: crea tu cuenta HTXUtiliza tu correo electrónico o número de teléfono para registrarte y obtener una cuenta gratuita en HTX. Experimenta un proceso de registro sin complicaciones y desbloquea todas las funciones.Obtener mi cuentaPaso 2: ve a Comprar cripto y elige tu método de pagoTarjeta de crédito/débito: usa tu Visa o Mastercard para comprar Solayer (LAYER) al instante.Saldo: utiliza fondos del saldo de tu cuenta HTX para tradear sin problemas.Terceros: hemos agregado métodos de pago populares como Google Pay y Apple Pay para mejorar la comodidad.P2P: tradear directamente con otros usuarios en HTX.Over-the-Counter (OTC): ofrecemos servicios personalizados y tipos de cambio competitivos para los traders.Paso 3: guarda tu Solayer (LAYER)Después de comprar tu Solayer (LAYER), guárdalo en tu cuenta HTX. Alternativamente, puedes enviarlo a otro lugar mediante transferencia blockchain o utilizarlo para tradear otras criptomonedas.Paso 4: tradear Solayer (LAYER)Tradear fácilmente con Solayer (LAYER) en HTX's mercado spot. Simplemente accede a tu cuenta, selecciona tu par de trading, ejecuta tus trades y monitorea en tiempo real. Ofrecemos una experiencia fácil de usar tanto para principiantes como para traders experimentados.

278 Vistas totalesPublicado en 2025.02.11Actualizado en 2026.06.02

Discusiones

Bienvenido a la comunidad de HTX. Aquí puedes mantenerte informado sobre los últimos desarrollos de la plataforma y acceder a análisis profesionales del mercado. A continuación se presentan las opiniones de los usuarios sobre el precio de LAYER (LAYER).