Zama is a cryptography company building infrastructure for confidential smart contracts on existing blockchains rather than launching a standalone Layer 1. The Zama Protocol is designed to let decentralised applications process and store sensitive values on-chain in encrypted form, while still enforcing smart contract rules. It aims to keep application state and computation encrypted so values are not exposed on-chain. It also lets smart contracts define when and to whom results may be revealed and uses distributed key services run by multiple operators so decryption does not depend on a single party.

This design can support applications that require on-chain data confidentiality, including confidential transfers, private DeFi positions, sealed-bid mechanisms and identity or compliance workflows with selective disclosure.

ZAMA is the utility token used to operate the protocol and pay for protocol services. Its core functions are:

• Protocol fees

  • ZAMA is used to pay for protocol actions required to run confidential applications, such as operations tied to encrypted execution, authorised decryption requests and cross-network confidentiality services (where supported).
  • Fees can be paid by an end user or by an application/relayer on the user’s behalf, allowing applications to abstract direct token handling for users.

• Staking and delegation

  • Operators stake ZAMA to provide protocol services (for example, roles related to encrypted computation and roles related to key services used for authorised decryption).
  • Token holders can delegate ZAMA to operators, aligning incentives between operators and delegators.
  • The design includes rewards for operators/delegators and may include penalties (slashing) for protocol violations, depending on the active rules.

• Economic flow

  • A common model for this type of protocol is fees being burned while new tokens are minted to fund operator rewards, so the cost of usage and the cost of security are handled through separate flows.

Zama was founded in 2020 by Dr Rand Hindi (CEO) and Dr Pascal Paillier (CTO), with other named senior researchers including Prof Nigel Smart (Chief Academic Officer) and Dr Marc Joye (Chief Scientist). The company describes a global team of more than 90 people, with a high proportion of PhDs and a focus on research and engineering in fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).

Rand Hindi (CEO) Rand is an entrepreneur and deeptech investor. He is the CEO at Zama and a partner at Unit.vc, where he has invested in 100+ companies across cryptography, AI and biotech. He founded Snips, a privacy-focused AI company that was acquired by Sonos. He has served on the French Digital Council advising on AI and privacy, lectured at Sciences Po in Paris and advised companies in biotech, AI and defence. He holds a BSc in Computer Science and a PhD in Bioinformatics from University College London (UCL).

Pascal Paillier (CTO) Pascal is a cryptographer and CTO at Zama. He invented the Paillier encryption scheme, an early additive homomorphic encryption system that remains widely used. He has published dozens of papers across cryptography, including work related to FHE and smart card security. Before Zama, he led a cryptography innovation team at Gemalto and founded CryptoExperts, a cryptography consulting firm. He is an IACR Fellow (2025), has received research awards and has led work connected to ISO cryptography standards. He holds a PhD in cryptography from Télécom Paris.