what's Confidential SPL Token (C-SPL)?

Confidential SPL Token (C-SPL) is a token standard on Solana that enables native confidentiality for SPL tokens. It allows users to shield balances, perform encrypted transfers, and mint/burn assets while maintaining the familiar SPL experience. Developed by Arcium, it addresses public blockchain transparency limitations for institutional and DeFi use cases requiring privacy. C-SPL uses Multi-Party Computation (MPC) to encrypt token balances and transfer amounts, keeping sender/receiver addresses public for composability. Any on-chain program can manage confidential token accounts, supporting programmable privacy in DeFi. Tokens can switch between confidential and public states seamlessly, with devnet rollout in phases for broader adoption.

Confidential-SPL is scheduled to launch on Solana in Q1 2026 as a token standard.