Dash, a layer 1 blockchain protocol with privacy features, announced Thursday the integration of Zcash’s “Orchard” shielded pool into the Dash Evolution chain, a secondary layer of the L1 network that supports smart contract functionality.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the integration will be implemented after a cybersecurity audit is completed and is expected to launch in March.
Initially announced that the integration will support native transfers of Zcash (ZEC) from one party to another on the Evolution chain, a subsequent upgrade will add Orchard’s privacy features for tokenized real-world assets (RWA).
The price of the network’s native token, DASH (DASH), soared more than 125% in January. Dash briefly reached a local high of around $96 on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange before falling back to current levels.
On-chain privacy protocols and privacy blockchain tokens have gained significant momentum in 2025 and early 2026, with proponents of the technology framing them as a response to increased financial surveillance by governments and corporations.
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Lack of privacy has delayed cryptocurrency payments and put the technology under fire.
“Lack of privacy may be the missing link in cryptocurrency payment adoption,” said Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder of Binance cryptocurrency exchange.
CZ said companies will not adopt blockchain technology if privacy tools cannot protect payments containing sensitive information about employee compensation.
Avidan Abitbol, a former business development specialist for the Kaspa cryptocurrency project, told Cointelegraph that transaction data could also reveal information about key partnerships and other trade secrets to competitors.
Agata Ferreira, assistant professor at Warsaw University of Technology, argues that true financial privacy is achieved through a combination of regulation, culture and code, rather than simply protecting on-chain metadata.
According to technology critics such as author and Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Saifedean Ammous, user anonymity can still be breached and ownership of privacy tokens can be verified through forensic analysis and law enforcement investigations.
In January 2026, Dubai’s financial regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), banned privacy tokens including ZEC and XMR (XMR), the native token of the Monero privacy protocol.
The ban does not prevent citizens from holding the tokens, but it also prevents regulated cryptocurrency exchanges from selling them to new users, highlighting tensions between state regulators and privacy technologies.
magazine: 2026 is the year of practical privacy in cryptocurrency: Canton, Zcash and more