# Privacy-First CBDCs: Leveraging Cryptography and Ethereum for Next-Gen Digital Currencies

> With over 130 countries exploring or piloting their own design systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are poised to transform global finance. However, a critical question remains: how can nations balance innovation, privacy, regulatory compliance and user trust? We believe cryptographic privacy-enhancing technologies, specifically zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and Ethereum, hold the key.

Canonical: https://aztec.network/blog/privacy-first-cbdcs-leveraging-cryptography-and-ethereum-for-next-gen-digital-currencies  
Type: Article  
Reviewed: 19 October 2026  
Publisher: Aztec Foundation

Author: Andre Omietanski, Amin Sammara and Joe Andrews  
Published: 3 December 2024  
Category: Research

View the [full report](https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:c8aaad9b-34bf-4c0c-8f4e-7cae9fd3221f).

With over 130 countries exploring or piloting their own design systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are poised to transform global finance. However, a critical question remains: how can nations balance innovation, privacy, regulatory compliance and user trust?  
  
The current proposed CBDC designs are just not good enough.

At Aztec Labs, we believe cryptographic privacy-enhancing technologies, specifically zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and Ethereum, hold the key.

ZKPs enable secure and automated compliance measures such as identity verification and transaction monitoring—without exposing sensitive data. Meanwhile, Ethereum unlocks enhanced interoperability, security, and programmability. CBDC systems that utilize both would protect individual privacy and build user trust while meeting legal and regulatory objectives in a way that traditional methods cannot.

In this report, we provide a deep dive into CBDCs, including:

- An overview of global CBDC projects, and the trends shaping their development with a focus on Thailand, Montenegro, and Switzerland.
- The challenges of integrating privacy and compliance, and how ZKPs can help solve them.
- The transformative power of Noir, an open-source programming language that simplifies ZKP development for governments and developers alike.
- The unique advantages of issuing CBDCs on Ethereum.

Privacy-first CBDCs are not just a technological innovation; they represent a critical step in the evolution of money. Fiat needs a fundamental redesign to preserve its status in the advent of crypto. Encryption revolutionized the internet—ZKPs and Ethereum can do the same for digital fiat currencies.

Explore the full report and discover how privacy, security, and compliance can come together in the privacy-first CBDCs of the future. View the [full report](https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:c8aaad9b-34bf-4c0c-8f4e-7cae9fd3221f).

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Markdown representation of https://aztec.network/blog/privacy-first-cbdcs-leveraging-cryptography-and-ethereum-for-next-gen-digital-currencies. Published by Aztec Foundation.