Solana-focused infrastructure firm Sol Strategies (NASDAQ: STKE) has launched private execution and zero-knowledge KYC capabilities for institutions on Solana through its Zyga privacy engine, acquired in April 2026.
"We’re working our way up the stack," Michael Hubbard, CEO of Sol Strategies, said on the company's Q2 2026 earnings call. "With Houdini, we’re taking that step further where we’re now looking at cross-chain... and then adding on to that the privacy products, which are important both to end users, but also to institutions."
The new tools from Zyga, the intellectual property from the acquired Darklake Labs, allow institutions to execute transactions on the Solana blockchain with enhanced privacy and compliance. Zero-knowledge proofs allow for know-your-customer (KYC) verification without revealing underlying sensitive data, a critical requirement for regulated financial firms to operate in decentralized finance (DeFi). The private execution engine is designed to protect trades from issues like dynamic slippage.
This launch is part of a broader strategy to build an integrated suite of services on Solana. Sol Strategies is set to close its acquisition of Houdini Swap, a cross-chain aggregator operating on over 100 blockchains, for $18 million by the end of May. The company expects the acquisition to add over $12 million in annual revenue, with a floor of $2.5 million in EBITDA as part of an earn-out agreement.
The launch of Zyga’s features marks the third layer in Sol Strategies' vertically integrated Solana infrastructure play. The company began at the base layer with a significant validator network that processes transactions for the entire Solana network.
In January 2026, it moved up the stack with the launch of STKESOL, a liquid staking token. By the end of March, the protocol had attracted approximately 768,000 SOL, equivalent to $61 million at the time, by allowing users to earn staking yield while maintaining liquidity. The firm now adds the application layer with Zyga's privacy tools and the pending acquisition of Houdini Swap's cross-chain routing.
"The real opportunity that we see is when we start combining these things, where we can use some of the Zyga zero-knowledge technology to potentially offer enhanced private swap opportunities on the Houdini APIs," Hubbard said.
Zyga’s focus on privacy and compliance arrives as traditional financial institutions are exploring direct on-chain transactions through automated agents. Sygnum Bank, a regulated Swiss bank, recently announced it had executed live on-chain transactions using an AI agent, where clients retained full custody of their assets. Similarly, Anchorage Digital introduced its "Agentic Banking" platform in May for AI agents to move funds through regulated rails.
These initiatives highlight the growing need for institutional-grade privacy and verification tools that can function in a decentralized environment. By providing zkKYC, Zyga enables firms to meet regulatory obligations on-chain without compromising the privacy of their trading strategies or client data, a major hurdle for institutional DeFi adoption. This positions Sol Strategies to service institutions that need "access, priority, privacy and execution quality," according to Hubbard.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
