Solana infrastructure company Helius acquires Light Protocol to advance on-chain privacy infrastructure
Odaily Planet Daily News: Solana infrastructure company Helius announced the acquisition of Light Protocol, whose team will refocus on developing Solana privacy solutions.
Founded in 2021, Light Protocol initially focused on zero-knowledge proof-based privacy tools for Solana before pivoting to co-develop ZK Compression with Helius. Launched in 2024, this solution aims to reduce the cost of on-chain data storage on Solana via zero-knowledge proofs, supporting large-scale consumer and enterprise applications.
This acquisition will drive Light back to its original mission, combining its cryptographic expertise with Helius's infrastructure and distribution advantages to develop a ZK privacy protocol for Solana, covering applications such as private payments and private DeFi. Helius plans to open up relevant privacy infrastructure to developers in the coming months.
The transaction occurs against a backdrop of accelerated consolidation in the crypto industry and a tightening fundraising environment, while also echoing the resurgence in demand for on-chain privacy. Helius founder Mert Mumtaz stated that privacy will become a crucial foundation for blockchain scaling, much like HTTPS became for the internet.
