# NEAR Protocol Puts Default Privacy at Center of AI and Finance Vision

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/36091
Published: 2026-10-20T23:14:44.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-20T23:14:44.000Z
Section: Technology

> Co-founder Illia Polosukhin presented the vision in a keynote at TOKEN2049 Singapore.

NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin used a TOKEN2049 Singapore keynote to put default privacy at the center of the blockchain network’s vision for AI and finance.

Polosukhin made the case for confidentiality as a starting point in both areas. NEAR Protocol provides infrastructure for decentralized applications, or services that use a blockchain to operate.

The keynote was part of TOKEN2049 Singapore, held Oct. 7-8. NEAR addressed quantum security at a separate event on Oct. 8.

The keynote set out NEAR’s broader direction for privacy in AI and finance.