Helius acquires Light Protocol to build ZK privacy

Helius announced the acquisition of Light Protocol on Wednesday, saying the deal will refocus Light’s team on building zero-knowledge privacy tools and private payments for the Solana network. The companies said they will combine Light’s cryptography work with Helius’s Solana infrastructure to add on-chain privacy features.

Light Protocol was founded in 2021 to bring zero-knowledge privacy to Solana. The project later shifted to develop ZK Compression, a storage-cost reduction framework co-developed with Helius and launched in 2024. ZK Compression uses zero-knowledge proofs to reduce the cost of storing data on Solana; Helius said the technology will remain part of its broader stack.

Under the acquisition, the Light team will build a zero-knowledge privacy protocol intended for private payments and private decentralized finance on Solana. The protocol will run on a fully programmable, configurable chain that can be adjusted for retail users and institutional clients. Helius plans to make the new privacy infrastructure available to developers in the coming months but did not provide specific launch dates or a name for the chain.

Mert Mumtaz, founder of Helius, wrote that privacy is a core requirement for blockchain growth and compared the role of privacy on blockchains to HTTPS on the web: “Crypto without privacy is not crypto. Just as HTTPS made the HTTP internet safe and scalable for global commerce, privacy will do the same for blockchains. Solana has a huge ecosystem, is the fastest chain in existence, but will never scale unless privacy is taken as a PO priority.” He added, “It is comical that ‘cryptographic' currencies barely make use of cryptography today; we are going to change that.”

The announcement comes as venture capital funding in the crypto sector has declined and some smaller projects have wound down. Several well-capitalized firms have pursued acquisitions to expand capabilities and support core infrastructure. Interest in privacy technology has increased across multiple blockchain ecosystems and development initiatives.

Zero-knowledge proofs are cryptographic methods that let one party prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying data. On blockchains, they can verify transactions or state changes while keeping amounts, addresses or other sensitive details private. Helius and Light said they will publish technical documentation and developer toolkits ahead of any public tests or mainnet launches.