Ethereum Launches Kohaku SDK — Vitalik Reveals New Privacy Toolkit at Devcon

Tue Nov 18 2025
Vitalik Buterin unveils Kohaku, a modular privacy SDK for Ethereum. Supporting Railgun and Privacy Pools, it marks a major milestone in Ethereum’s push for secure, private blockchain interactions.

🛡️ Ethereum Pushes Forward on Privacy — Vitalik Unveils Kohaku SDK at Devcon

Kohaku introduces a new era of modular, developer-friendly privacy tools — signaling Ethereum’s next major evolution.

Ethereum is doubling down on privacy. At Devcon Argentina, co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced the launch of Kohaku, a modular open-source SDK designed to help developers build wallets and dApps with more secure, private interactions. It’s Ethereum’s clearest move yet toward making privacy a native feature, not an optional addon.

The reveal immediately generated momentum across the privacy ecosystem — including frameworks like Privacy Pools, whose team shared the announcement here.

🔎 Quick Facts

  • 🛠️ New SDK: Kohaku for privacy-enhanced dApp development
  • 🎤 Announced by: Vitalik Buterin at Devcon
  • 🔗 Supports protocols: Railgun, Privacy Pools
  • 🚧 Status: Active development — more modules coming
  • 🔒 Goal: Controlled information disclosure per transaction

🧩 What Exactly Is Kohaku?

Kohaku is a modular toolkit that lets developers plug privacy directly into their applications — without reinventing cryptography from scratch. It allows builders to:

  • 🛡️ limit what information each party sees in a transaction
  • 🔗 integrate privacy tech like Railgun or Privacy Pools
  • 📱 build private wallets and dApps with configurable visibility rules

In simple terms: Kohaku gives developers the controls to make Ethereum interactions private “by default,” while still remaining compliant and auditable where required.

🔐 Why Privacy Now?

Privacy is becoming a non-negotiable feature of Web3. At Devcon, Vitalik said:

“We're in this very last mile stage where we need to put a lot of concerted effort into doing better.”

Ethereum’s transparent architecture has always been both a feature and a pain point. Users want confidentiality, regulators want accountability — Kohaku is Ethereum’s attempt to bridge both worlds.

Nicholas Consigny of the Ethereum Foundation summarized the mission:

“Kohaku aims to ensure that each party to a transaction has knowledge only of what is necessary.”

🧠 The Bigger Privacy Initiative

Kohaku is part of Ethereum’s broader push toward native privacy. The Ethereum Foundation recently formed a Privacy Cluster — a dedicated internal team exploring:

  • 📥 Private Reads & Writes
  • 📑 Private Proving using ZK-tech
  • 🆔 Private Identities for on-chain identity safety

These efforts align with the work of the Privacy & Scaling Explorations (PSE) group, aiming to bake privacy directly into everyday Ethereum usage.

🧭 What Comes Next?

Kohaku is still evolving — but its launch marks a turning point. Expect:

  • 🚀 new privacy-enabled wallet integrations
  • 🛠️ more modules for developers releasing in 2026
  • 🤝 tighter coordination with Privacy Pools and ZK-ecosystems
  • 🔒 long-term roadmap toward “default private” Ethereum interactions

Ethereum is moving steadily toward a future where privacy is not a feature — it’s an expectation.

✅ TL;DR

  • 🛡️ Vitalik unveils Kohaku, a new privacy-focused SDK.
  • 🔗 Supports Railgun, Privacy Pools, and future ZK modules.
  • 🤝 Part of Ethereum’s broader Privacy Cluster initiative.
  • 🔐 Aims to give users & devs granular control over transaction visibility.
  • 🚀 Sets the stage for more private and compliant Ethereum apps.

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