Oasis for Developers: an underrated EVM for privacy-first dApps

If you’re building in Web3 and everything starts to feel like:

• MEV everywhere
• Front-running by default
• Sensitive logic exposed in calldata

…it might be time to look at Oasis Sapphire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDLz06X_KNY

What Oasis actually is

• Oasis is a Layer 1 with a modular architecture
• Sapphire is an EVM-compatible ParaTime (smart contract runtime)
• You deploy Solidity contracts almost exactly like Ethereum

What makes it different

• Confidential EVM execution
• Contract state, inputs, and internal logic can be encrypted
• Data is only visible inside the secure runtime (TEE-backed)

This isn’t “privacy by obfuscation”. It’s enforced at execution level.

Why this matters for devs

• Protect MEV strategies (arbs, liquidations, auctions)
• Build sealed-bid auctions without commit–reveal hacks
• Hide sensitive parameters (fees, thresholds, allowlists)
• Reduce attack surface from calldata-based exploits

Dev experience

• Solidity + standard tooling (Foundry, Hardhat)
• Minimal changes to existing contracts
• No custom rollup infra, no sequencers to manage
• Deploy like an app, not like an infrastructure company

When Oasis makes sense

• DeFi protocols with strategy logic
• Account abstraction / paymaster logic
• Games with hidden state
• Governance or voting systems
• Any app where “everything public” is a liability

Trade-offs (being honest)

• Smaller ecosystem than Ethereum L2s
• You need to design with confidentiality in mind
• Not every app needs privacy, obviously.. but when you do, it’s hard to fake

If Ethereum L2s optimize for throughput, Oasis optimizes for who gets to see what. And that’s a powerful primitive most stacks still don’t have.

Comments

[Manav]

Agreed, the real win with Sapphire is selective confidentiality. You keep normal Solidity & EVM tooling, but decide what stays public and what stays hidden.

That’s a very practical way to deal with MEV and strategy leakage without rebuilding your whole stack.

[sid]

Solid take!
Sapphire fills a real gap for devs who want EVM compatibility without leaking strategy, state, or parameters by default. It’s not a silver bullet, but for MEV sensitive logic, sealed bids, or private governance, having confidentiality at the execution layer beats endless app-level hacks.

[Aditya Singh]

Oasis as a privacy-first EVM that angle is really underrated in the ecosystem right now. Confidential smart contracts and real data privacy unlock use cases that most other chains can’t touch without complex workarounds. Excited to see more devs experiment with truly private dApps on Oasis!