You’re handling crypto trades on public Wi-Fi – and your VPN encrypts the connection, blocking hackers from seeing what you’re doing. At the same time, your transactions run through a blockchain that no government or company controls. Such dual protection is now becoming the standard for anyone who takes privacy seriously.
But the reality is that hackers launch more than 2,200 cyberattacks every single day. So, that’s one attack every 39 seconds – and 95% of these breaches happen because someone made a simple mistake. The old ways of protecting ourselves online just don’t work anymore, and now we need to keep up with that, and that’s where VPNs and blockchain come in – two things that actually make each other stronger.
1.9 Billion People Now Use VPNs – But Not Only for Netflix
The VPN market hit $77 billion in 2025, which is more than 1.9 billion people, and around one-third of internet users now use VPNs on a daily basis. Sure, some people still use them to watch shows from other countries, but that’s not what’s pushing such growth.
People finally understand that ISPs track everything they do online, governments collect browsing data, and companies build detailed profiles to predict what you’ll buy next. A VPN makes an encrypted tunnel that hides all this activity. Your ISP sees encrypted data going to a VPN server – and nothing else. So, they can’t really tell if you’re checking email, trading crypto, or reading the news.
But VPNs have limits, though. They protect your connection, but once your data reaches its destination, you’re back in the regular internet system – and you’re still trusting companies with your information. Also, you’re still operating within centralized networks that governments can shut down or monitor.
Well, that’s the gap blockchain fills.
Blockchain Networks – When You Can’t Trust Anyone
Blockchain completely changes how we handle all these transactions. So, instead of one company controlling everything, thousands of independent computers verify each transaction. No single government can shut it down, and no company can change the records.
Take Solana as a perfect example – it can process 65,000 transactions per second, which is faster than Visa’s peak capacity of 24,000. But the real kicker is that each transaction is less than $0.0025.
SOL runs on more than 1,000 validation nodes spread across the globe. So, even if a government blocks VPN servers (which happens in China and Russia), they can’t stop blockchain transactions – the network just routes around the blockage. In January 2025, SOL handled $45 billion in transactions without a single outage.
The gaming field shows another use case. Players use VPNs to avoid ISP throttling that ruins their gaming experience. So, they use Solana to play their favorite casino games, which handles everything without the lag that kills other blockchains.
The speed is also very important, and SOL confirms transactions in 400 milliseconds, which is faster than the blink of an eye. Especially important during gaming sessions, since you can get the security of blockchain without the painful waiting times that plagued casinos using early assets such as Bitcoin.
Decentralized VPNs Combine Both Techs
Regular VPNs have a fatal flaw – they’re centralized. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark – they all route your traffic through servers they control. So, if the company gets hacked, receives a government order, or decides to sell your data, your privacy vanishes.
Decentralized VPNs fix this by using blockchain tech, and instead of company-owned servers, your traffic bounces through thousands of independent nodes. Regular people share their internet bandwidth and earn crypto in return.
Well, how it really works is that blockchain smart contracts automatically handle payments between users and node operators. No company holds your payment info, and no central authority tracks which nodes you use. If governments try to shut it down, they’d need to locate and stop thousands of individual computers at the same time – and that’s basically impossible.
Real People Using This Combo Right Now
Crypto traders lead the adoption of this dual-layer protection, as they use VPNs to hide their IP addresses from hackers who target valuable wallets. Then, they execute trades on SOL, where 81% of all decentralized exchange transactions now happen – and such a combo keeps their identity and transactions safe.
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) push this even further. Projects such as Helium make decentralized internet coverage. Hivemapper builds maps without Google’s surveillance, and Render distributes 3D rendering tasks across thousands of computers. Users access these services through VPNs while the underlying blockchain makes sure no single company controls the network.
What Happens Next
The convergence of VPNs and blockchain moves on as both technologies improve. Solana’s upcoming Alpenglow upgrade promises to reduce transaction finality by 100x, which means near-instant confirmation for everything from payments to smart contract execution.
Quantum computing poses the next big threat – current encryption methods might become worthless when quantum computers become powerful enough. Both VPN providers and blockchain networks now race to implement quantum-resistant encryption before that happens.
AI enters the mix as well – new systems can detect some unusual network patterns and automatically switch between VPN servers or blockchain nodes to protect the privacy. So, instead of users manually configuring security settings, AI handles it automatically while respecting privacy.
The Takeaway
VPNs and blockchain seem to be very complementary tools, as they continue to prove they can combine to make perfect privacy protection. VPNs shield your internet activity from surveillance, while blockchain makes sure your transactions and data remain free from centralized control. But together, they have something neither provides alone – real online independence.
Right now, more than 1.9 billion people are using VPNs, and the millions transacting on networks aren’t paranoid. Well, they just know that privacy isn’t hiding crimes, but keeping your autonomy in a world where every click can get tracked, analyzed, and monetized.
