Polygon CDK Unveils Institutional-Grade Privacy Chains With Full Access to Global Liquidity

TLDR:

• Polygon CDK’s validium config keeps raw transaction data sealed within institution-owned infrastructure.
• Settlement on Ethereum uses only a cryptographic commitment and a ZK proof, never exposing transactions.
• Five composable privacy levels let institutions scale confidentiality without migrating between configurations.
• Private CDK chains connect to Agglayer, preserving access to Ethereum, multi-chain liquidity, and fiat ramps. 

Polygon CDK has announced a new privacy configuration for institutions building custom blockchains on its technology stack.

The upgrade keeps raw transaction data inside institution-owned infrastructure. At the same time, chains built on the configuration retain open access to global liquidity networks.

Powered by Succinct Labs’ SP1 Hypercube proving system, only a cryptographic commitment and a zero-knowledge proof settle to Ethereum.

The configuration primarily targets banks, payments companies, and asset managers that are moving onchain.

How the Privacy Configuration Works

Polygon CDK now offers a validium configuration developed in partnership with Succinct Labs. Transaction data stays within an institution-operated data availability environment.

Raw transaction data never reaches a public network. Ethereum receives only a cryptographic fingerprint and a validity proof for settlement.

The SP1 Hypercube proving system is already live in production on Katana Network. Settlement relies on validity proofs rather than a trusted operator with data access.

This approach means no single party holds visibility into the institution’s transaction data. The chain is verified publicly, but its transaction contents remain confidential.

@0xPolygon stated: “Ethereum confirms the chain is operating correctly. It never sees the transactions.” Role-based controls gate RPC endpoints and block explorers through enterprise systems like Okta and Azure AD. Policies apply at the contract and function level. Counterparties view only their own transactions.

Auditors receive scoped read access, while regulators get selective disclosure capabilities. Chain operators, by contrast, retain full visibility over all chain activity.

Even operational metadata — block contents, transaction counts, gas usage — can stay private. Institutions ultimately control what information is shared and with whom.

Five Privacy Levels and Cross-Chain Liquidity

Polygon CDK gives institutions five composable privacy levels with no migration required. The base level covers permissioned access through role-based RPC and private block explorers.

The newest tier is the confidential chain, keeping data within institution-owned infrastructure. A third level adds trusted execution environments for sealed workloads like dark-pool matching and sealed-bid auctions.

The fourth level applies fully homomorphic encryption to permissioned token rails. Balances and transfer amounts stay encrypted onchain throughout.

Apex Group’s T-REX Ledger with Zama on ERC-3643 already demonstrates this in production. The fifth level uses client-side zero-knowledge proofs through Hinkal to shield wallet-layer transactions from onchain visibility.

Despite the privacy architecture, Polygon CDK chains stay connected to Agglayer. Through this layer, private chains can access Ethereum, other L1s and L2s, and non-EVM networks like Miden.

A regional bank can settle with counterparties on other chains. Fiat ramps and stablecoin liquidity remain accessible through the Open Money Stack.

Target institutions include banks launching tokenized deposits and payments companies building stablecoin corridors. Asset managers issuing tokenized funds and crypto-native teams requiring enterprise SLAs also qualify.

Each deployment remains subject to applicable laws and regulations. Institutions can start at one privacy level and expand from there.

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