Privacy Coins: "Try to avoid KYC as much as possible," says privacy blockchain project leader

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Privacy coins: “try to avoid KYC as much as possible”, says Zano head of marketing Original Link: A privacy-by-default blockchain platform that enables users to launch their own assets was recently featured in an interview with its head of marketing and growth.

The platform basically enforces the amounts being hidden, the sender and receiver addresses being hidden, and even the asset type transacted remains hidden.

The ecosystem can be utilized to make any asset private, including stablecoins, shielded versions of BTC, ETH, and even private DeFi (PriFi).

Why is there a new surge around privacy coins?

The surge started with Zcash, and it was likely orchestrated with influencer promotions. However, there are deeper reasons: people have concerns about government overreach, digital IDs, and CBDCs. This contributes to privacy coins doing well. Usually at the end of each cycle, people rotate profits into privacy coins.

How will privacy coins evolve over the next 5 to 10 years?

Privacy will become way more important and dominant across crypto. Optional privacy is weak privacy, so it will fade away and default privacy will become the standard. It also depends on regulations, but if blockchain wants mass adoption by companies, they need privacy too. A company doesn’t want you to see their money flows or payment behavior because it reveals insights into their business model. Privacy will become more important for both individuals and businesses.

About the surge around stablecoins

For e-commerce, you want to pay with a stable asset. That’s why stablecoins are popular, and USDT and USDC are the most used cryptocurrencies today. But they have serious flaws because they are not private. If you receive a stablecoin, the other party can see your wallet balance and transaction history—that’s a security risk for users and businesses.

Private alternatives launched on privacy blockchains are private by default and cannot be frozen. Over 3 billion USDT has been frozen to date. With private stablecoins, this is not possible. They’re censorship-resistant, private, and their reserves are fully auditable.

Many projects try to add optional privacy later, but it’s not enough. On privacy blockchains, privacy is default, and there is an auditable wallet you can optionally create. Via the view key, people can verify amounts and track transactions of these auditable wallets without being able to spend assets. This allows private stablecoins to prove their over-collateralized reserves, unlike Tether.

Main differences from other privacy blockchains

Compared to Monero, privacy blockchains are more versatile. Monero is peer-to-peer digital cash, private and good at that, but it lacks programmability. Privacy blockchains create an ecosystem on top of it—more like Ethereum compared to Bitcoin. You get Monero-level privacy with programmability.

Compared to Zcash, the main difference is that they have optional privacy, which translates to weak privacy. Users default to transparent addresses, so the shielded pool is small. Privacy blockchains are private by default. Zcash also doesn’t yet have confidential assets or the hybrid PoW/PoS consensus that newer privacy platforms already have.

The speed is also different: Monero takes about 20 minutes before you can re-spend assets, Zcash about 25 minutes, while newer platforms only need 10 minutes.

Should privacy be opt-in or the default?

It should be the default. Users default to what the wallet defaults to, and many don’t understand the difference between address types. They also want maximum interoperability, and some exchanges reject shielded transactions. They follow the path of least resistance.

Developers also avoid complex cryptography, and shielded transactions are often seen as high-risk by exchanges. Users internalize the idea that privacy equals risk. So optional privacy is not preferred; privacy should be default so everyone has the same protection.

Optional privacy also makes tracking easier for chain analysis companies.

Regulatory concerns

Yes, of course regulatory targeting is a risk, but it’s not a reason to stop. Privacy is important for user security. A lot of people think privacy is for criminals, but that’s not true. Recently in San Francisco, intruders stole $11 million from someone; on a private blockchain this information wouldn’t have been available.

Banks shield your account; you can’t see others’ bank balances and they can’t see yours. Cash is still used and has privacy features. Privacy blockchains mimic those privacy features but in the digital blockchain world instead.

Regulators view certain privacy tools not as neutral infrastructure, but as active enablers of large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion. However, projects that don’t run services and burn all transaction fees never profit from network usage, which may help address particular concerns.

Practical steps for everyday users to protect privacy

Use privacy-by-default blockchains like those in the privacy ecosystem or Monero. They keep you much safer. Also avoid KYC services as much as possible. Data leaks and malicious actors can expose your information.

This happened recently with certain platforms: balances, home addresses and passwords became public. It puts a target on your back. So avoid KYC when you can, and use privacy-by-default blockchains. Of course this is not a call to action to break your local laws!