Bitcoin advocate Saifedean Ammous sparked debate by questioning the importance of privacy in money. He criticized Zcash as a “shitcoin” due to concerns over a trusted setup in its launch. Despite Zcash’s privacy features, Ammous doubted its auditability and questioned the demand for private money.

Industry figures like Mert Mumtaz and Barry Silbert weighed in, with Mumtaz calling for money free from debasement and privacy, while Silbert highlighted privacy’s importance for Bitcoin supporters. Zcash co-founder Zooko Wilcox referenced a case where the Canadian government tracked down Bitcoin addresses, emphasizing the need for privacy.

Ammous acknowledged the evolving nature of privacy in blockchains and believed onchain privacy is challenging. He suggested layer-2 protocols for desired privacy features. Despite the surge in privacy tokens like Zcash, Ammous remained focused on the importance of hard money over privacy in the context of economic growth.

Zcash has gained renewed interest, ranking high on Coinbase searches and experiencing a 10x surge in price, surpassing $10 billion in market capitalization. Despite the debate over privacy in money, Zcash’s resurgence indicates growing interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies as 2025 comes to a close.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Hard Money Vs Privacy? Saifedean Ammous Questions Crypto’s Privacy Push