Solana infrastructure firm Helius acquires Light Protocol to expand onchain privacy

Helius, the Solana infrastructure firm founded by Mert Mumtaz, has acquired Light Protocol to enable its experienced team to focus on Solana privacy solutions.

According to an announcement shared with The Block, Light Protocol was founded in 2021 to bring zero-knowledge privacy to Solana before it shifted to ZK Compression, which was co-developed by Helius and launched in 2024.

ZK Compression is an infrastructure framework aimed at reducing the cost of storing data on Solana using zero-knowledge proofs, enabling developers to build large-scale consumer and enterprise apps.

"The acquisition returns Light to its original mission, pairing its cryptography with Helius's distribution and infrastructure," the announcement reads. This includes building a ZK-based privacy protocol for "private payments and private DeFi on Solana."

This chain, unnamed in the statement on Wednesday, is fully programmable and configurable to enable customization for both retail and institutional use cases. Helius plans to open the new privacy infrastructure to developers in the coming months, according to the announcement.

The acquisition comes amid a moment of consolidation in the crypto industry as venture capital financing dries up. Several projects, including well-established protocols, have opted to wind down, while some more capitalized firms look to expand through acquisitions.

It also comes amid rising interest in crypto privacy, including at the Ethereum Foundation, which is now funding multiple privacy initiatives, and for Layer 1 chains like Zcash. Mumtaz, in particular, has become an outspoken advocate for onchain privacy and has championed Solana-based tools alongside his support for Zcash.

"Crypto without privacy is not crypto," Mumtaz said. "Just as HTTPS made the HTTP internet safe and scalable for global commerce, privacy will do the same for blockchains. Solana has a huge ecosystem, is the fastest chain in existence, but will never scale unless privacy is taken as a PO priority."

"It is comical that 'cryptographic' currencies barely make use of cryptography today; we are going to change that," he added.