Venture capital firm a16z forecasts that privacy will become a crucial competitive advantage in the cryptocurrency industry by 2026. As performance and cost factors converge, privacy not only enhances security but also creates a network effect that is difficult to replicate. The firm emphasizes the need for decentralized, trustless privacy infrastructure, allowing users to control their information through keys rather than institutions. Privacy should be integrated as a foundational capability in the form of "privacy as a service." Additionally, DeFi security is evolving from "code is law" to "norms are law," with systems built on provable invariants and runtime constraints to establish robust defenses.