Sui is testing a new privacy feature on its devnet. The feature, called confidential transactions, hides the amounts and balances of token transfers while keeping sender and recipient addresses visible. The testing started June 8, 2026, and is not yet live on mainnet.
How the feature works
Under the current design, Sui transactions show the asset type and the addresses involved, but the exact amounts being moved are encrypted. Balances are also hidden from public view. The system is built for selective confidentiality — users or applications can choose which transactions to shield. That flexibility is aimed at enterprise and financial use cases where privacy is a requirement but full anonymity isn't needed.
Why selective confidentiality matters
Sui's core pitch has always been high throughput and a developer-friendly object model. Adding privacy options could make it more attractive to institutions that need to keep trade sizes or payment amounts confidential while still proving settlement on a public ledger. The devnet test lets developers experiment with the feature before any mainnet deployment.
The move comes as several blockchains race to offer privacy features that comply with regulations. By keeping addresses public, Sui's approach avoids the regulatory headaches of fully anonymous networks while still offering meaningful confidentiality for sensitive data.
For now, the confidential transactions are limited to devnet. The Sui team has not announced a timeline for mainnet release. Developers can test the feature and provide feedback. Whether the feature will be adopted widely depends on how well it balances privacy with the transparency that Sui's ecosystem relies on.
