ShapeShift, one of the longest-running community-driven multi-chain DEX aggregators, announced the introduction of its version 4.0 platform update. This marks a significant return to privacy-first self-custody transactions.
According to a press release sent to insteadthis update comes after a year of continuous engineering work and reaffirms the platform’s core values at a time when much of the crypto industry is moving toward custodial risk, forced disclosure, and opaque transaction flows.
Version 4.0 continues ShapeShift’s long-standing commitment to operating without accounts, tracking, or know-your-customer (KYC) requirements while prioritizing private value transfers, clearer transaction validation, and increased user control.
The DAO-led platform describes this release as a concerted attempt to restore privacy by design across decentralized finance.
Zcash plays a key role
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The V4.0 release is centered around the global distribution of Zcash across the ShapeShift platform.
Zcash has long been considered one of the most trusted privacy-focused assets in the industry and is now the platform’s primary privacy-preserving payments and routing asset.
By integrating ZEC directly into its wallet and routing stack, ShapeShift positions privacy as a default rather than an optional feature.
This connection allows users to trade and transfer assets between major blockchain ecosystems such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cosmos while maintaining complete self-control.
The use of zero-knowledge cryptography built into Zcash aims to bring privacy-preserving technology into everyday DeFi activities.
ShapeShift’s strategy is to normalize private transactions within multi-chain transactions, rather than viewing them as outliers or advanced features.
Cross-chain execution with NEAR intent
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In addition to Zcash, ShapeShift now supports NEAR Intents, a next-generation cross-chain routing mechanism.
NEAR intents allow users to declare their desired outcomes rather than manually maintaining complex execution paths across many blockchains.
This integration increases the number of viable routing alternatives for ZEC and other supported assets, resulting in faster execution, increased liquidity availability, and pricing across decentralized networks.
Importantly, this framework ensures that users maintain control throughout the transaction process.
ShapeShift aims to simplify cross-chain transactions while maintaining transparency and user control, addressing long-standing usability issues in decentralized finance.
Ending blind signing with hardware wallet support
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The version 4.0 upgrade further improves hardware wallet compatibility by including native support for Trezor and GridPlus devices.
This integration allows users to combine hardware wallets into a single decentralized trading environment.
This upgrade allows users to perform multi-chain swaps directly from cold storage while maintaining full insight into transaction details.
The move is framed as a step toward reducing reliance on blind signatures, which have become common in DeFi but limit users’ ability to verify on-chain authorization.
By increasing the transparency of transaction verification, ShapeShift hopes to address what has been characterized as an industry-wide trade-off between security and ease of use.
Reconfirm the original spirit
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ShapeShift touts Zcash integration, support for NEAR Intents, and improved hardware wallet compatibility as part of its coordinated privacy push.
DAO describes the update as a return to its original ethos of self-sovereignty by default, privacy by design, and uncompromising decentralization.
Houston Morgan, ShapeShift Growth and community workstream lead, said blind signing became popular because users had to choose between security and usability, and he believes this is an industry failure.
He said that by focusing on Zcash, enabling current hardware wallets, and increasing cross-chain execution, ShapeShift has demonstrated that privacy and transparency can coexist, and that DAO will become the leading privacy exchange for the DeFi community in 2026.
According to Tim Black, Tokenomics Product Lead at ShapeShift DAO, version 4.0 lays the foundation for adding even more chains, swappers, and features to the community, unlocking new momentum for the platform.
