Privacy could become the next "killer app" in the crypto industry, with Arc, Canton, and Tempo raising a total of over $1 billion.

BlockBeats News, May 13 — Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that as stablecoins and asset tokenization enter the mainstream financial system, “privacy” is becoming a core focus in the competition for crypto infrastructure. Recently, three blockchain projects focused on stablecoins and tokenization—Arc, Canton, and Tempo—have collectively raised over $1 billion, with a total valuation exceeding $10 billion.

Among them, Circle’s Arc completed a $222 million funding round at an estimated valuation of about $3 billion; Digital Asset is seeking $300 million in funding for the Canton blockchain at an estimated valuation of around $2 billion; Tempo, supported by Stripe and Paradigm, previously raised $500 million, with a valuation of $5 billion.

Hougan pointed out in his blog that this wave of funding reflects three major trends: the gradual clarification of the U.S. regulatory environment, increasing market demand for privacy-focused blockchains, and intensified competition among enterprise-backed crypto networks.

He believes that traditional public blockchains have long had to balance speed, cost, and security, while stablecoins and RWA tokenization scenarios have higher demands for “privacy, compliance, and security.” Compared to fully transparent public chains, institutions prefer transaction data not to be publicly exposed.

“If a company broadcasts every operation to the world before completing a transaction, or if employee salaries can be viewed by any blockchain explorer, then transparency is not an advantage but a flaw,” Hougan said.

He also mentioned that after the U.S. Congress passes the GENIUS Act in 2025, institutional confidence in investing in crypto infrastructure will significantly increase, and regulatory clarity is driving more traditional capital into on-chain financial markets.