On November 9, 2026, Raycash, a stablecoin payments start-up spun out of the Zama privacy protocol, launched its app on the Ethereum mainnet as a private beta. The pitch: let users hold, send and earn on dollars without publicly exposing balances or transfer amounts.
🔑 Key takeaways
- Raycash positions its app as the first consumer payments product built on the Zama Protocol, with USDC supported at launch.
- Balances and amounts are protected by fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) while settling on Ethereum.
- More than 75,000 people had joined the waitlist before the app opened.
- Confidential DeFi yield is accessible through Morpho, and a card, the Raycard, is in development.
A consumer product built on the Zama Protocol
Raycash describes itself as the first consumer payments product built on the Zama Protocol. The launch was first reported by The Block, based on a statement provided exclusively to the outlet. It marks a step for the Ethereum ecosystem: a consumer-facing app is attempting to make both balances and transaction amounts confidential without leaving the main network.
The app targets three core uses: holding dollars, sending peer-to-peer payments and earning yield on idle balances. All three rely on the same technical layer, fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), which allows data to be processed while still encrypted, without ever being decrypted.
How homomorphic encryption changes the picture
On a conventional public blockchain, every transfer is visible to anyone who knows the address involved. According to Raycash, that transparency means anyone can today look up balance and transfer histories. FHE changes that logic: the network validates operations, such as checking that a balance is sufficient or updating accounts, on values that remain encrypted throughout. The public sees that a transaction occurred and settled, but not how much was moved.
This is not simply a mixing layer. It is computation on encrypted data, which keeps the ledger verifiable while limiting what third parties can see. That combination is precisely what Zama has been working to industrialize over several quarters.
Wrapping stablecoins into confidential tokens
The wallet works on a simple principle: existing stablecoins are wrapped into confidential tokens at a 1-to-1 conversion ratio. A deposited USDC becomes an equivalent confidential token, without creating a new digital currency that users must trust. These tokens follow the ERC-7984 standard, developed for confidential tokens using Zama’s FHE technology.
| Element | Detail | What it means for users |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying asset | USDC at launch | One wrapped dollar equals one confidential token |
| Standard | ERC-7984 | Dedicated standard for confidential tokens |
| Settlement | Ethereum network | Usual transactions, with encrypted balances and amounts |
| Exit | Unwrapping | Permissionless withdrawal into the underlying stablecoins |
Payments therefore still settle on Ethereum like regular transactions, but balances and amounts stay encrypted. The underlying stablecoins can be withdrawn through a permissionless unwrapping process, meaning no internal mechanism conditions the exit back into standard stablecoins.
“People shouldn’t have to choose between the benefits of stablecoins and keeping their financial information confidential.”
Valerio Leo, CEO and co-founder of Raycash
That framing captures the project’s ambition. Raycash is not trying to introduce a new digital currency that requires extra trust, but to make dollars people already use private. Leo added, according to the report, that users can move their funds back out whenever they choose.
Custody, payments and DeFi yield
Self-custody and selective transparency
The wallet is self-hosted, meaning the user retains custody of their assets. The project also states that the confidential tokens carry no freeze or seizure function at the token level. That sets them apart from many centralized stablecoins, whose issuers can blacklist addresses.
In exchange, users can grant read access to specific parties, such as an accountant or an auditor, without making their activity public. Privacy becomes selective: toward the general public, amounts remain opaque; toward an authorized third party, they remain verifiable.
- Custody: users keep control of their assets.
- Freezing: no freeze or seizure function at the token level, according to the project.
- Audit: read access can be granted to a chosen party.
Deposits, withdrawals and network fees
The app offers several ways in and out. Funds can be deposited by bank transfer, by card or with an existing stablecoin, and withdrawn to bank accounts. Users can send, request and receive instant payments through payment links, and receive dollars as stablecoins sent by other users.
A notable feature: Raycash says it covers Ethereum network fees in the background. Users therefore do not need to hold ETH to pay gas, a common barrier for newcomers. The report does not detail how this fee coverage is funded.
Confidential DeFi yield
Idle balances can be placed into DeFi yield protocols confidentially. The integration with Morpho is directly accessible from the app. A card called the Raycard, designed for private spending, is also under development.
A trajectory that extends Zama’s earlier launches
Raycash follows a series of Zama launches aimed at extending its confidentiality infrastructure from DeFi protocols toward retail usage. The table below summarizes the public milestones reported so far.
| Date | Milestone | Key metric |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | First confidential USDC yield vault with Morpho and Steakhouse Financial | $40M total value locked in seven weeks |
| September 15, 2026 | Expansion to 16 confidential vaults and launch of private swaps on Ethereum | 16 confidential vaults |
| November 9, 2026 | Raycash launches in private beta | More than 75,000 waitlist sign-ups |
These developments represent the first public uses of Zama’s confidentiality infrastructure for productized stablecoins. The report flags one open question: how many of the 75,000 sign-ups become active users has not been quantified. No precise date for a broader opening has been given after the private beta.
Outlook and scenarios
The report provides no market price for Raycash, which is not linked to any token in the article, and no attributable market reaction to the launch. The only available indicators are adoption metrics: waitlist sign-ups, the value locked in Zama’s vaults and the number of confidential vaults.
Bull case: the 75,000 sign-ups convert into active users, the product expands beyond USDC to other stablecoins, the Raycard reaches the market and confidential yield volumes through Morpho keep growing. In that scenario, Raycash would become a reference use case for privacy on Ethereum.
Base case: the rollout stays gradual, with adoption concentrated among users already familiar with DeFi and stablecoins. Metrics would be published in stages, and the trajectory would track Zama’s vaults, whose early growth was rapid before it leveled off.
Watch case: the technical complexity of FHE, the dependence on Zama’s infrastructure, the undisclosed model behind fee coverage and regulatory questions about the confidentiality of financial flows could slow adoption or force adjustments. The absence of a freeze function is also a point regulators could scrutinize closely.
Sources
Cet article est publié à titre informatif et éducatif. Il ne constitue en aucun cas un conseil en investissement. Faites vos propres recherches (DYOR) avant toute décision.
