TL;DR

• COTI’s privacy layer lets payments happen without exposing user data, unlike Web2 platforms like Stripe.
• It combines programmable logic with confidentiality ideal for merchants, marketplaces, and financial apps.
• With no third-party fees, and no data surveillance, it removes the hidden costs of Web2 payment stacks.
• Already live on DevNet, COTI V2 brings Ethereum compatibility with powerful privacy tools built-in.

It won’t replace Stripe overnight but it offers something Stripe never could: control, compliance, and privacy all at once. Web2 payments are broken in ways we’ve all come to accept. You pay with your card, wait for approval, and somewhere in the background, your data is being tracked, monetized, and stored.

Platforms like Stripe and PayPal made online payments possible but they also made them expensive, invasive, and slow. Web3 promised better. But most blockchain payments today are too clunky, too transparent, or too hard to integrate.

That’s where COTI comes in. COTI’s privacy layer powered by Garbled Circuits and deployed on a scalable, EVM-compatible stack might finally make Web3 payments usable and invisible. 

Let’s break down what that actually means.

Web2 Payments: Friction in Disguise

Stripe, Square, PayPal, and Apple Pay offer sleek checkout UIs. But under the hood, they’re stitched together with legacy systems:

• Fees stack up: 2.9% + $0.30 is standard.
• Payouts are delayed. Merchants wait days.
• Transactions are reversible, not great for sellers.
• Most of all: user data is harvested.

Every card swipe turns into behavioral data. Merchants, meanwhile, are forced to comply with platform terms, get censored, or deplatformed altogether.

So yes, Web2 payments work. But only if you accept total dependence and zero privacy.

Why Web3 Payments Didn’t Take Off

Crypto payments exist. But real adoption hit a wall. Why?

1. Everything is public: Anyone can see your wallet, balances, and transactions.

2. UX is bad: High fees, gas tokens, slow finality.

3. No compliance layer: Merchants can’t operate legally without some visibility.

4. No logic control: You can’t add rules, limits, or conditional flows easily.

Basically, crypto payments today are raw. They work for tipping or trading, not for running a business.

Enter COTI: Privacy as a Payment Primitive

COTI V2 is a privacy-focused Ethereum L2. But it’s not just about hiding payments. It’s about doing more with payments:

• Run payment logic privately.
• Add programmable rules.
• Hide user data while enabling policy.

At the heart of it is Garbled Circuits (GC), a method of computing on encrypted data. It’s not ZK, not FHE, and not centralized.

— Shahaf Bar-Geffen, AMA Recap

Real Payment Use Cases COTI Unlocks

Here’s what merchants and apps can now build using COTI:

1. Private Subscriptions

Create recurring payments tied to wallets, with logic that:

1. Validates if user has paid
2. Triggers services
3. Doesn’t expose payment history publicly

2. Confidential Point-of-Sale Systems

In-store or e-commerce tools that settle in COTI or a CBDC, but with buyer details kept private.

3. Cross-Border Remittance With Rules

Send payments across borders with logic attached:

• Only unlock funds when a product is delivered
• Trackable but not fully visible to the world

4. Payroll or Grants With Conditions

Teams can:

1. Pay contributors
2. Ensure identity thresholds are met
3. Avoid KYC honeypots

The Gas Problem? COTI Solves That Too

Most L2s require ETH for gas. It’s annoying for end-users. COTI uses its own token for gas. That means:

• Easier onboarding
• Merchant control
• More seamless integrations

It also gives COTI long-term utility beyond speculation.

It’s Already Live: DevNet, SDKs, and Tooling

Developers can build on COTI today:

1. DevNet with full documentation
2. EVM-compatible smart contracts
3. SDKs in TypeScript, Python
4. Testnet explorer, wallet, and faucet

This is testable, forkable, and usable.

Will COTI Replace Stripe?

Not immediately. But it doesn’t need to. Instead, think of COTI as a layer. It can be plugged into:

• Crypto-native stores
• DEXs and dApps
• CBDC-based marketplaces
• Platforms that need confidentiality

Over time, this becomes infrastructure. Not a Stripe competitor, a Stripe alternative for a different internet. And once the UX catches up, it’s game over for Web2 payment stacks.

Final Thought

Web2 payments are sleek, but they’re built on surveillance, fees, and friction. Web3 hasn’t fixed this but COTI is getting close. Its privacy layer doesn’t just hide payments. It lets developers build smarter, more secure flows that feel modern, but don’t cost users their autonomy. It’s an upgrade. And one that could, over time, do what crypto promised but never delivered: Make payments programmable, private, and truly peer-to-peer.