EthSystems Launches Privacy Layer for Ethereum Institutional Assets
In brief
- EthSystems launched as independent for-profit firm building privacy and compliance technology for institutional clients on Ethereum.
- Founders Mo Jalil (ex-Goldman Sachs), Oskar Thorén, and Aaryamann Challani led Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force.
- Startup offers bespoke consulting, architecture reviews, and protocol specifications; backed by Bitmine, Joe Lubin, and SNZ.
- Ethereum hosts $16 billion in tokenized assets, but institutions require privacy safeguards for real capital flows.
Filling the Privacy Gap
EthSystems launched with a year of open-source work already published, including proofs of concept for private bonds, confidential stablecoin transfers, and private cross-chain settlement. The startup's business model centers on bespoke consulting: workshops, architecture reviews, protocol specifications, and production systems tailored to institutional clients.
The founders bring deep crypto and finance credentials. Jalil spent his career in institutional finance before joining the Ethereum Foundation. Thorén spent close to a decade on crypto privacy infrastructure, building peer-to-peer messaging and the Waku protocols. Together, they spent months mapping institutional demand for on-chain privacy.
Their conclusion is straightforward. Ethereum already hosts $16 billion in tokenized assets, but banks and asset managers are already exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets, and on-chain settlement—none will run real flows in full public view. Privacy isn't optional for institutional adoption.
The Spin-Out Moment
The timing reflects broader shifts at the Ethereum Foundation. The Foundation cut 20% of its staff in June and wound down its in-house privacy and scaling research unit. In the space of weeks, three groups spun out to take on work the Foundation is stepping back from: Ethlabs (non-profit for core protocol research), Ethereum Institutional (non-profit for bank outreach), and EthSystems (for-profit for privacy technology).
EthSystems is funded by Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Sharplink, Joe Lubin, and SNZ. Bitmine holds approximately 5.7 million ETH and Sharplink around 888,000 ETH, giving both major skin in Ethereum's institutional future. Tom Lee, Bitmine Chairman, framed the bet plainly: "the next $100 trillion of assets won't migrate on-chain without it." Joe Lubin contrasted EthSystems with other teams offering institutions privacy technology that amounted to permissioned systems with extra steps—a critique of centralized, non-transparent approaches that miss the point of public blockchains.
