Shiba Inu Announces Major Privacy Upgrade for Shibarium with Zama's FHE Technology

The Shiba Inu ecosystem is poised for a transformative privacy upgrade on its Layer 2 network, Shibarium, leveraging Zama's Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology. Marketing executive Lucie confirmed that the integration, scheduled for completion before the end of Q2 2026, will enable fully confidential smart contracts and privacy protections across Shibarium and its gas token, BONE.

This development stems from a strategic partnership with Zama, a Paris-based cryptography firm, first announced in February 2024. Zama's public testnet is already active on Ethereum's Sepolia network, with mainnet deployment and a ZAMA token event expected by the end of 2025. The roadmap indicates broader EVM chain support, including Shibarium, in the first half of 2026, followed by Solana deployment in the second half.

The upgrade aims to address transparency issues in public blockchains by allowing smart contracts to process encrypted data without exposure. This could unlock private transactions, confidential DeFi protocols, and enhanced security, positioning Shibarium as a privacy-focused Layer 2 network. Since its launch in August 2023, Shibarium has processed over 1.56 billion transactions, produced 14.33 million blocks, and attracted 270 million interacting wallets.

Amid SHIB's price hovering near a two-year low of approximately $0.00000886, this upgrade is seen as a potential catalyst to revive investor interest and shift the ecosystem beyond its meme origins.