Hard money vs privacy? Saifedean Ammous questions crypto’s privacy push

Bitcoin advocator Saifedean Ammous ignited lively statement betwixt Bitcoiners and privateness advocates aft helium questioned the perceived value of privateness arsenic a cardinal diagnostic of wealth successful an exclusive interrogation with Cointelegraph.

“This is the question. How overmuch request is determination for wealth that does not get debased versus however overmuch request is determination for wealth that allows you to support your privacy?” Ammous said.

Ammous, the writer of The Bitcoin Standard, described Zcash arsenic a “shitcoin” and raised concerns astir the archetypal motorboat of the project, which progressive a trusted setup ceremonial successful 2016 to make the cryptographic parameters for its privateness features.

“The full happening is built connected a trusted setup, wherever you person to spot a clump of radical who started the full thing. I’m not successful immoderate temper to get into these benignant of anserine games,” Ammous said.

While admitting that helium did not person in-depth cognition of Zcash’s protocol, Ammous besides questioned whether the privateness features of Zcash would bounds the quality of radical to spot the full proviso of ZEC tokens: 

“As I understand, the anonymity benefits travel astatine the disbursal of the auditability benefits.”

Zcash features the quality to usage shielded and unshielded ZEC to marque transactions. Shielded ZEC is utilized successful transactions that are encrypted and private, hiding the sender, receiver, and magnitude from the nationalist blockchain. This privateness is achieved utilizing zero-knowledge proofs, which let the web to verify transactions arsenic valid without revealing delicate details. 

Despite Ammous’s concerns, shielded and unshielded Zcash pools are publically verifiable connected respective blockchain explorers. 

Privacy vs hard money

Several cardinal figures from the cryptocurrency manufacture weighed successful connected an X station that featured Ammous’ comments connected Zcash and the relation of privateness successful the usage of money. 

— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) November 27, 2025

Helius co-founder Mert Mumtaz described Ammous’s question astir monetary debasement versus privateness arsenic a “false dichotomy:”

“You should person wealth that is not debased and is private. That’s zcash. Further, you conscionable can’t person wealth that’s escaped from the authorities unless it’s private. If it tin beryllium seen, it tin beryllium seized.”

Digital Currency Group laminitis and CEO Barry Silbert said that privateness inactive remains a halfway interest for Bitcoin supporters:

“I’m aged capable to retrieve erstwhile each hardcore Bitcoiners cared astir privacy. Fortunately, galore inactive do.”

Zcash co-founder Zooko Wilcox besides commented connected the thread, highlighting the information that the Canadian authorities had managed to way down Bitcoin addresses linked to striking truckers owed to the transparent quality of Bitcoin’s blockchain. 

Source: Gareth Jenkinson

X users continued to remark and statement implicit the merits of privateness successful wealth and the cardinal differences betwixt Zcash and Bitcoin.

Ammous conceded that privateness successful blockchains is an evolving phenomenon. When it comes to Bitcoin, the prof believes that immoderate of the privateness features that BTC users mightiness privation tin beryllium entrusted to layer-2 protocols and platforms.

“On the contented of privacy, it’s absorbing however it’ll evolve. One unpopular sentiment I person is that onchain privateness is precise hard and continues to get much difficult. That’s not needfully a atrocious happening due to the fact that radical tin get the privateness they privation connected 2nd layers and I don’t deliberation it compromises it.”

Related: What’s down the surge successful privateness tokens arsenic the remainder of the marketplace weakens?

Ultimately, Ammous’s world inheritance remains rooted successful the content that hard wealth is indispensable for prosperity and economical growth. 

“I deliberation radical would alternatively person hard wealth that is not private, implicit casual wealth that is private. The communicative that radical privation privateness successful their money, I deliberation is massively overblown successful bid to nutrient selling for shitcoins,” helium said.

Ammous added that money, by “its nature, is an anti-private technology,” fixed that immoderate speech typically leaves breadcrumbs of information, particularly successful a integer world. 

“So it’s precise hard to marque wealth into thing that is backstage and onchain, it’s ever going to beryllium difficult. But what radical truly privation is absorption to debasement. That’s the happening that really has a $300 trillion full addressable market.”

Zcash has seen a resurgence successful involvement arsenic 2025 draws to a close. The privacy-enabling cryptocurrency climbed to the top of Coinbase’ hunt rankings successful November and the terms of ZEC saw a 10x surge successful caller months, concisely surpassing $10 cardinal successful full marketplace capitalization.

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