Digital asset infrastructure firm Taurus, whose clients which include Deutsche Bank and State Street, has launched the first private stablecoin contract, targeting financial institutions and businesses who have been hesitant to use stablecoins for privacy concerns.
Built on Aztec Network, a privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 backed by a16z, the contract combines zero-knowledge privacy with compliance features modeled on USDC, including mint/burn controls, emergency pause, blacklisting and audit logging.
The move coincides with stablecoin adoption rapidly growing for everyday transactions outside of crypto. With the U.S. Senate passing the GENIUS Act to create a regulatory framework for asset class, Taurus said it expects global stablecoin supply to accelerate and reach $1–2 trillion by 2030.
With this private stablecoin contract, Taurus said that financial institutions concerned about privacy will be able to issue stablecoins in payment or treasury applications while balances and transfers remain encrypted.
For example, a company could use this private stablecoin for cross-border payroll without revealing staff names or amounts to competitors or random onlookers. At the same time, if regulators needed access, the system’s design lets them in.
“This addresses concerns that we’ve repeatedly heard from banks looking at issuing stablecoins, central banks, and regulators,” said JP Aumasson, chief security officer at Taurus. “We showed that it’s possible to protect the privacy and security of stablecoin users while retaining the features of industry-standard stablecoins.”