The International Monetary Fund has expressed its desire for a “great reset” in the world which includes the total loss of privacy. Big Tech has been criticized for siphoning off user data and selling it to third parties. Blockchain is seen as a possible solution to ensure transparency, traceability and a proper tracking of records to prevent shady activities by Big Tech. Privacy coins, Monero and Zcash, are the leading contenders for the go-to privacy protocol but the question of who will take the top spot remains. Zcash is seen as having a stronger chance due to its flexibility and features, as well as institutional investor support.
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Privacy Execution: The Importance of Blockchain and Privacy Coins
2020 will go down in infamy as one of the craziest years in history. And 2021 has already begun with controversial news, including politics going mad, social media facing crises and the Parler hack, which compromised all of Parler’s data. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also announced that it would like to see a great reset in the world, which could include the total loss of privacy.
Privacy concerns have been present since the inception of Big Tech, which has been selling our data to third-party partners and creating a web of information about us. Although this issue affects us all, most of us do not take our privacy seriously. Services, such as social media platforms, are free to use but benefit from our information. We are the product, and our data is often sold to third parties, creating a significant risk for identity theft.
Blockchain could be the solution to this problem. Blockchain provides an infrastructure to track everything in a compliant manner, but what about privacy concerns? The missing piece to the puzzle is privacy solutions. And currently, Monero and Zcash are leading the privacy coins.
Monero is the Bitcoin of privacy coins, dating back to 2014. It uses an obfuscated public ledger to enable anyone to send transactions while keeping the source, amount, or destination private. CipherTrace reportedly has a tool to crack Monero, but this has not been confirmed.
Zcash, similar to Monero, offers financial privacy but is based on Bitcoin’s codebase. It is the first widespread application of zk-SNARKs, which enable one to prove possession of certain information without revealing that information. Moreover, there are multiple forks of Zcash, such as Pirate Chain and Zero, which focus on privacy protection.
Although Dash used to be a privacy coin, it is gradually shifting towards a payment solution. Still, there is a need for more competition among privacy coins. Secret Network, which utilizes hardware-based and software-based privacy technologies, can also be worth looking into.
Currently, Zcash seems to be the leading privacy solution due to its strong community support, flexibility, and protocol features. Grayscale even has a Zcash trust, and Winklevoss Capital is invested; however, Monero has doubled its market cap despite the negative news, and Zcash has significant room for growth.
In conclusion, blockchain and privacy coins are the foundation of the future of privacy, and it is up to us to start from the beginning and prevent further privacy breaches.
