Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of Near Protocol, emphasized the growing importance of privacy as critical infrastructure in an AI-driven economy during his keynote at BUIDL Asia 2026. He argued that blockchain’s inherent transparency limits real-world adoption, particularly when on-chain data is exposed during everyday transactions. To mitigate these risks, Near has implemented innovative privacy technologies, integrating Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to ensure data sovereignty. This approach secures sensitive information, preventing unauthorized access even from hardware providers. Polosukhin noted that many Fortune 500 companies are wary of adopting AI due to potential data leaks, indicating that robust privacy measures will be essential for mainstreaming cryptocurrency and AI in business operations. As AI evolves into autonomous agents managing tasks like payments, protecting user data will be crucial. Ultimately, integrating privacy into blockchain could transform it into the foundational operating system for future digital infrastructure.
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