Computation is broken. The moment data is processed, it becomes vulnerable exposed to whoever is handling it. Until now, encryption protected data only when it was stored or transmitted. But once computation started, that protection disappeared.

This is Web3’s biggest limitation. Transparency is great, but it makes handling sensitive data impossible. DeFi, AI, enterprise applications any system that needs privacy has been forced to compromise.

Arcium fixes that. But, What is Arcium? 

Arcium is an encrypted computing network that allows developers to process encrypted data without ever decrypting it. By combining Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), Arcium makes it possible to run privacy-preserving applications where sensitive information remains private throughout its entire lifecycle.

Unlike blockchains that expose everything on-chain, Arcium ensures that computations happen securely while remaining verifiable. Built on Solana, it serves as a high-performance, chain-agnostic execution layer for confidential DeFi, AI model training, institutional finance, and beyond.

▨ The Problem: What’s Broken?

  • Public blockchains expose everything → Transparency is great for trust but terrible for privacy. Sensitive financial transactions, private AI models, and encrypted data analytics are impossible in an open system.

  • Existing privacy solutions are flawed → Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) are vulnerable to side-channel attacks. Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are good for verifying transactions but don’t allow encrypted computation.

  • FHE is too slow → Fully Homomorphic Encryption theoretically enables private computation, but it’s inefficient, making real-world usage impractical.

  • Privacy vs. scalability is a constant tradeoff → Most privacy solutions either introduce centralization, slow down transactions, or require new trust assumptions.

▨ What Arcium Is Doing Differently

Arcium removes the compromise between privacy, speed, and decentralization by combining three critical technologies into one network:

  • Multiparty Execution Environments (MXEs) → Secure virtual environments where computations happen on encrypted data, ensuring privacy without exposing inputs or outputs.

  • MPC-Enabled Privacy → Data is split into fragments and distributed across nodes so that no single entity ever sees the full computation.

  • Parallelized Confidential Computing → A stateless architecture enables multiple encrypted computations to run simultaneously across different clusters, ensuring high throughput.

  • FHE Meets MPC → Homomorphic encryption is used where needed, but combined with MPC for efficiency—bringing the best of both worlds.

  • On-Chain Security & Governance (via Solana) → Staking, slashing, and execution rules are enforced trustlessly, ensuring a decentralized and secure system.

With privacy-first design, scalability, and verifiable execution, Arcium is positioned to become a foundational layer for confidential computing in Web3.

▨ Key Components & Features

At the heart of Arcium are Multiparty Execution Environments (MXEs) which are secure, encrypted virtual environments where private computations take place. These environments are highly customizable, allowing developers to configure security settings based on their specific needs.

Instead of a single entity handling sensitive data, Arcium uses Multiparty Computation (MPC) to split and distribute encrypted data fragments across different nodes. No single node ever sees the full dataset, ensuring complete privacy.

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) adds another layer of security. Unlike traditional encryption, where data must be decrypted before processing, FHE allows computations to happen directly on encrypted data. This eliminates trust assumptions while maintaining full confidentiality.

Scalability is ensured through parallelized execution, where multiple computations can run simultaneously across different clusters. This stateless design ensures low latency, making encrypted computing viable for real-world applications.

Finally, on-chain enforcement via Solana guarantees security. Nodes stake collateral to participate in computations, and if they act maliciously, their stake is slashed. This creates a financial incentive for honest execution.

▨ How Arcium Works? 

Arcium operates as an off-chain encrypted computation layer with on-chain enforcement. Here’s how it works:

🔹 Step 1: Data Encryption & Submission
Users encrypt their inputs before sending them to the network. MXEs distribute encrypted data fragments across multiple nodes.

🔹 Step 2: Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC)
Nodes process encrypted fragments independently. Since they only see part of the dataset, they can’t reconstruct the full information.

🔹 Step 3: Fully Homomorphic Computation (FHE)
Computation happens directly on encrypted data, meaning there’s no need for decryption.

🔹 Step 4: Parallelized Execution
Arcium’s stateless architecture ensures that multiple confidential computations can run at the same time, avoiding bottlenecks.

🔹 Step 5: On-Chain Verification & Enforcement
Once computation is complete, Solana acts as the verification layer. Staking and slashing mechanisms ensure nodes act honestly—misbehavior gets punished.

▨ Value Accrual & Growth Model

Arcium isn’t just about privacy—it’s about making privacy scalable and practical. Here’s how the network creates long-term value:

✅ Private DeFi & Institutional Finance → Solves MEV protection, confidential lending, and private trading execution for institutional traders.

✅ Privacy-Preserving AI Training → Enables secure AI model training where organizations can collaborate without exposing proprietary data.

✅ Regulatory Compliance & Data Protection → Governments and enterprises can encrypt sensitive data while remaining compliant.

✅ Scalability & Cost Efficiency → Unlike pure FHE models or ZK-heavy approaches, Arcium balances security with real-time performance, making it usable in production.

With real-world applications across DeFi, AI, institutional finance, and enterprise security, Arcium is positioned as a key infrastructure layer for confidential computing in Web3.