Privacy has always been crypto’s missing layer for serious adoption. Every transaction visible. Every balance exposed. Every wallet traceable.
Payy is built to change that.
Payy is built on Ethereum.@payy_link is a privacy-first stablecoin chain designed so your transactions aren’t exposed to the world.
— Ethereum (@ethereum) February 25, 2026
It brings programmable payments to Ethereum, without sacrificing privacy by default. pic.twitter.com/rAcpRhAVaN
What Is Payy?
Payy is a privacy-enabled Ethereum Layer 2 designed specifically for stablecoin payments. Built by Polybase Labs and led by former Apple iOS engineer Sid Gandhi, Payy makes ERC-20 transfers private by default without requiring smart contract changes.
The network routes transactions through private ERC-20 pools automatically. Add it to MetaMask as a custom chain and your transfers become invisible to public view.
No new wallet. No fragmented liquidity. No bad UX tradeoffs.
Payy Network is now live on @ethereum. pic.twitter.com/ueCJiPfSGi
— Payy (@payy_link) February 19, 2026
How It Works
Payy uses zero-knowledge proofs to shield transaction data while maintaining regulatory compliance. Unlike earlier privacy networks like Zcash, Monero, or Aztec, Payy was built from day one with compliance in mind.
“All the other existing privacy technologies don’t have this idea of compliance baked in,” Gandhi explained. “We’ve been thinking about compliance and privacy for a very long time, and realized that you have to continue doing the existing AML and compliance operations, even if you have a privacy network.”
Key technical features:
- Private ERC-20 Pools: Transactions route automatically through privacy pools
- MetaMask Compatible: Add as a custom chain, no wallet migration needed
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Transaction amounts and destinations stay hidden
- Privacy Vaults: Private transaction data stored offchain
- Fresh Address Generation: DeFi interactions withdraw to newly generated addresses
The Product Stack
Payy isn’t just infrastructure. The team launched a full consumer product alongside the network:
Payy Card: A non-custodial Visa card that lets users spend stablecoins privately. When you tap the card, a ZKP authorizes the transaction and the Payy Network settles with Visa. Transaction amounts never appear onchain.
Payy Wallet: Already has 100,000 users who will bootstrap the network at launch.
Why This Matters
Gandhi’s thesis is blunt: crypto cannot become a global financial system if every transaction is a data leak.
“Either I’m crazy or everyone else is crazy, because you just can’t build a financial system without the core pillar of confidentiality,” he said. “I firmly believe privacy is the final barrier to critical mass adoption. By removing it, we’re unblocking the path for the $2 quadrillion global payments economy to move onchain.”
The concern isn’t theoretical. Right now, anyone can pull up Dune dashboards and watch individual transactions from other self-custodial card providers in real time. With stablecoin payments tied to physical locations and timestamps, that visibility becomes a serious problem at scale.
Who It’s For
Payy targets two audiences:
- Institutions and Fintechs: Companies that want to bring payment flows onchain without exposing transaction data to analysis and exploitation
- Privacy-Conscious Users: Crypto natives who don’t want to juggle multiple wallets just to maintain basic financial privacy
“Crypto natives will use their existing wallets and apps, while Fintechs and TradFi will onboard through our distribution partners,” the team stated.
Backing and Partnerships
Polybase Labs has raised from Robot Ventures, DBA Crypto, 6th Man Ventures, Orange DAO, and Protocol Labs.
Robert Leshner, partner at Robot Ventures and founder of Compound, put it simply: “Payy finally built a real alternative to consumer banking. You can now save and spend self-custodied stablecoins privately without ever knowing they’re on a blockchain. And it just works.”
The team says partnerships with “some of the largest stablecoin players” will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Bigger Picture
Payy’s launch comes as privacy tools are stepping back into the spotlight. Monero and Zcash have seen renewed interest throughout 2025. The Ethereum Foundation announced a privacy roadmap in September, explicitly stating the goal is to ensure Ethereum avoids becoming “the backbone of global surveillance.”
Programmable payments on Ethereum, without your transactions broadcast to the world. That’s the pitch. Now it’s live.
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