Blockchain startup Plume has brought in Nightfall, a privacy-enabling technology, to its network in order to allow confidential transactions on public blockchains as institutions increasingly seek ways to tokenize assets without revealing sensitive information. The integration incorporates a public-domain privacy protocol—developed since 2017—into Plume’s platform, which is focused on tokenizing real-world assets including bonds, real estate, and similar financial instruments.
EY (Ernst & Young) is assisting in the deployment of Nightfall on Plume’s network. The move is intended to meet growing demand for privacy infrastructure in tokenized real-world asset (RWA) finance, while maintaining compliance and regulatory standards.
Technical Enhancements & Institutional Features
Nightfall’s recent version—Nightfall_4 (NF_4)—relies on Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) techniques that allow private transfers across multiple token standards including ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, and ERC-3525.
Transaction efficiency and scalability are improved via a ZK-ZK rollup approach, which bundles transactions into succinct, efficient blocks without compromising privacy.
Other features include decentralized permissioning and KYC gating, which are considered especially important for institutional actors and regulators dealing with tokenized assets. When combined with Plume’s AML policy at the sequencer level, the integration is intended to ensure that private transaction flows can scale while remaining compliant across institutional markets.
Use Cases, Strategy & Market Positioning
Plume is positioning itself as a blockchain for real-world asset finance (RWAfi) by offering a full-stack, permissionless, EVM-compatible platform that integrates with DeFi and serves institutions, asset issuers, and DeFi applications in a compliant environment.
Nightfall is deploying as a Layer-3 on Plume, bringing private, compliant transactions to RWAs at scale.@EYnews is assisting the deployment.
Institutions want access to onchain distribution, but scalability & compliance have been at odds.
That changes today. pic.twitter.com/6DpTMoAKWB
— Plume – RWAfi Chain (@plumenetwork) September 19, 2025
The addition of Nightfall is expected to strengthen confidence among institutional partners in the US, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and the UAE by embedding privacy into tokenization processes.
According to EY’s global blockchain leadership, Plume’s leadership in the RWA field makes it well placed to implement a privacy protocol, and EY plans to work with institutions and developers to build a regulatory-compliant suite of privacy-enabled solutions.
Plume’s co-founder and chief business officer has expressed that privacy and compliance need not be opposing forces and that embedding Nightfall in Plume’s infrastructure is expected to allow institutional tokenization efforts to proceed with stronger privacy assurances.
Implications & Outlook
The integration of Nightfall into Plume may lead to broader adoption of on-chain real-world asset markets that balance transparency, security, and data confidentiality. By supporting private, compliant transaction flows, Plume may appeal more to institutions that have so far hesitated due to concerns around privacy leakage and regulatory scrutiny.
Moreover, the combination of EVM compatibility, DeFi integration, and enhanced privacy features could make Plume a notable destination for projects looking to issue, trade, or manage tokenized RWAs globally. Continued engagement with regulatory bodies in key jurisdictions may further strengthen the legal and policy environment for tokenization under privacy constraints.