Privacy race number: Will Session and SimpleX Chat change the messaging game?

By the end of November 2025, Vitalik Buterin publicly supported two decentralized encrypted messaging platforms — Session and SimpleX Chat, donating 128 ETH to each project. This move is not coincidental but reflects an increasing reality: in today’s digital world, encrypting information into data is an ongoing process, and protecting privacy is no longer an optional feature but an essential need.

Why is private messaging becoming an urgent issue?

The world is witnessing a tension between public security and personal freedom. Governments, especially the EU, have proposed measures like “chat control” — requiring platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to allow authorities to scan messages before they are encrypted. Meanwhile, large-scale data leaks from the biggest financial institutions — from JPMorgan, Citigroup to Morgan Stanley — have revealed a stark truth: no one is truly safe.

Vitalik points out that privacy is not just about encrypting message content. It includes protecting metadata — satellite information such as IP addresses, send times, message sizes, and even the relationships between communicators. These seemingly small data points, when analyzed with advanced algorithms, can reveal a complete picture of a person’s lifestyle, finances, and even mental health.

Session: From Signal to an independent network

Session was initiated in 2018 by Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation in Australia, initially as an improved version of Signal. However, recognizing the inherent limitations of Signal’s centralized structure, especially the risks related to metadata, the development team decided to create a proprietary protocol called “Session Protocol.”

The highlight of Session is that it requires no phone number or email. Instead, users receive a random string of 66 characters for identification, similar to a fully decentralized “anonymous address.” All communication — messages, files, images, voice recordings — are end-to-end encrypted using the Session Protocol.

Initially, Session used the Loki blockchain network to transmit data. In 2021, independent security firm Quarkslab verified these claims. By 2025, Session advanced to the next stage: transitioning to Session Network — an open-source decentralized blockchain network designed specifically to transport encrypted data for messaging applications.

The project also issued the SESH token, currently trading around $0.1961 after fluctuations following Vitalik’s support.

SimpleX Chat: A completely different approach

SimpleX Chat takes a different but equally aimed approach. This open-source app is famous for its “user anonymity” feature — no user IDs, no phone numbers, no emails, and not even random usernames.

SimpleX’s mechanism is based on SimpleX Messaging Protocol (SMP), a one-way messaging protocol using intermediary servers. When you send a message, it is routed through a one-way queue created by the recipient, not by the sender. This adds an extra layer of protection: the recipient’s server never knows who sent the message.

SimpleX Agents — the core application components — communicate via end-to-end encrypted envelopes, while still adhering to standards resistant to future quantum computer attacks.

Next year, SimpleX will launch an innovative financial model: “vouchers” — users will purchase these vouchers and donate to communities (like the Bitcoin community) to maintain necessary servers, creating a fully independent sustainable model.

Ethereum’s comprehensive privacy roadmap

Vitalik’s support is not spontaneous. In April, he announced a detailed roadmap to help ordinary users conduct private transactions and interact anonymously on-chain, without changing the entire Ethereum protocol.

This roadmap includes four pillars:

• On-chain payment privacy
• Partial anonymity for application activities
• Data reading privacy on-chain
• Network-level anonymity

At the Ethereum Developer Conference from November 17-22, Vitalik introduced Kohaku — a new cryptographic toolkit to protect Ethereum wallets. Immediately afterward, on November 25, amid the turmoil of major banks struggling with disastrous data leaks, Vitalik made a strong statement: “Privacy is not a feature. Privacy is basic hygiene.”

Voices from the builders

Alexander Linton, Chairman of Session Technology Foundation, commented: “Unfortunately, current regulations threaten the future of private messaging. But these challenges are solvable. I believe Vitalik understands the importance of decentralization. His support helps us focus on our core mission.”

Chris McCabe, co-founder of Session, expressed: “It’s wonderful to see Vitalik and many others worldwide understand what true privacy is, and what people need to live freely. We want to send a message: you don’t have to become a commodity; you can be yourself, freely expressive. Privacy is a right, and you just need to know it exists.”

Zac Williamson, co-founder of Aztec Network (Layer 2 focused on privacy), argued: “People’s lives increasingly exist in digital space, where surveillance occurs at unimaginable levels compared to the real world. Privacy is essential — it allows individuals to act freely without becoming digital commodities, with data collected and sold to the highest bidder.”

Is this the next wave?

Currently, the private messaging sector does not have a big enough story as bright as AI or DeFi. But with Vitalik’s interest and the entire Ethereum ecosystem, along with tightening global regulations, ongoing data leak scandals, and investment flows into platforms like Session and SimpleX Chat, one thing is certain: decentralized private messaging is about to enter a growth phase.

For ordinary users, these two applications offer a completely new communication option — especially important for protecting sensitive information. For the crypto industry, they open opportunities to build a more complete Web3 privacy infrastructure. The next wave of the industry may not be about technology, but about rights — the right to exist in the digital space without surveillance, without becoming data.