StarkWare has officially announced the large-scale integration of the Nightfall protocol, developed by accounting giant Ernst & Young (EY), into its second-layer network, Starknet. This strategic partnership aims to create a secure environment for institutional players seeking a balance between the power of public blockchains and corporate secrecy. The implementation of this technology will allow large businesses to utilize decentralized finance without fear of unwanted publicity of their trading strategies and asset volumes.

Transparency has long been a key barrier to corporate entry into the crypto industry, as the public nature of transactions exposes balances and counterparties. The Nightfall protocol addresses this issue by operating as a specialized third layer (L3) on top of Starknet and utilizing zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs). This architecture enables Starknet to become a secure settlement platform where data verification occurs without disclosing its contents, which is critical for maintaining commercial confidentiality.

A key feature of Nightfall is its ability to combine complete privacy with regulatory requirements. The protocol supports audit functions and KYC procedures, allowing companies to selectively disclose information only to authorized bodies. This paves the way for complex use cases, such as cross-border B2B payments, corporate treasury management with closed balance sheets, and non-public transactions with tokenized assets in real time.

The history of the Nightfall project began back in 2018, when EY presented its first version and then open-sourced it to the community. Today, this technology is experiencing a second wind, confirming industry experts' belief that mass adoption of crypto payments is impossible without reliable privacy tools. By combining the security of Ethereum, the high throughput of Starknet, and the expertise of the Big Four, the developers are creating an infrastructure ready to scale at the global financial level.