Privacy in Crypto

Extracted Attributes

• Key Benefits

  Fungibility, financial privacy for free markets, protection against competitive tracking

• Core Technologies

  Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Ring Signatures, Stealth Addresses, Private Information Retrieval (PIR), Scriptless Scripts

• Primary Privacy Coins

  Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR)

• Regulatory Challenges

  KYC/AML compliance, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), EU DAC8 directive, Dubai privacy token ban

• Market Trend (Q4 2025)

  Outperformance of privacy-related assets compared to other crypto sectors

Timeline

• Binance is founded following a successful ICO, eventually becoming a major player in the crypto space with CZ at the helm. (Source: All-In Podcast Interview)

  2017-07-01

• Crypto.com reports reaching a user base of 100 million customers. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-06-01

• Traders' attention shifts significantly toward privacy coins, specifically Zcash (ZEC). (Source: Yahoo Finance)

  2025-09-30

• Naval Ravikant tweets that 'Zcash is insurance against Bitcoin,' fueling interest in privacy-preserving assets. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

  2025-10-15

• Zcash (ZEC) nearly breaks an eight-year all-time high price during a surge in privacy coin demand. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

  2025-11-01

• Privacy-related assets are identified as the outperforming crypto sector for the fourth quarter of 2025. (Source: Grayscale)

  2025-12-31

• The EU's DAC8 directive takes effect, requiring crypto service providers to collect user tax data. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

  2026-01-01

Crypto.com

Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore that offers various financial services, including an app, exchange, and noncustodial DeFi wallet, NFT marketplace, and direct payment service in cryptocurrency. As of June 2023, the company reportedly had 100 million customers and 4,000 employees. Crypto.com's user base increased from 10 million users in early 2021 to 100 million by mid-2024, while its workforce exceeded 4,000 employees. Regarding sponsorships and marketing activities, Crypto.com employed actor Matt Damon as a brand ambassador, collaborated with the soccer club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., and secured the naming rights for the Staples Center, now known as the Crypto.com Arena, in a 20-year agreement valued at $700 million.

Web Search Results

• Crypto Sectors Quarterly: A Preference for Privacy | Grayscale

  Exhibit 4: Top 20 highlights performance of privacy theme ##### Preference for Privacy The dominant crypto investing theme in Q4 was privacy. As we discussed in our 2026 outlook report, privacy is a normal part of the financial system: almost everyone has an expectation that their paychecks, taxes, net worth, and spending habits will not be visible on a public ledger. However, most blockchains are transparent by default. If public blockchains are going to be more deeply integrated into the financial system, they will need much more robust privacy infrastructure — and this is becoming obvious now that regulation is facilitating that integration (via market structure legislation). [...] The rising focus on privacy led to outperformance of crypto asset with these features in Q4, especially Zcash(#_ftn3) (ZEC). Zcash is a decentralized digital currency like Bitcoin but incorporates optional privacy features through “shielded” accounts and transactions. Shielded balances increased during 2025 as a share of token Zcash supply, indicating rising demand for the protocol’s privacy-preserving features (Exhibit 5). Exhibit 5: Increase in usage of Zcash’s privacy features Several other privacy-preserving protocols outperformed in Q4 2025. [...] Q4 2025 marked a pause in crypto’s momentum, as markets digested earlier gains and recalibrated expectations for the year ahead. Returns were negative across all six Crypto Sectors in Q4 2025, following gains across all market segments in Q3. Crypto Sectors is our proprietary framework for organizing digital asset markets and measuring returns, developed in partnership with index provider FTSE/Russell. Privacy-related assets outperformed during the quarter, especially the decentralized digital currency Zcash (ZEC). As blockchains are integrating more deeply into traditional finance, the need for better privacy tools is becoming obvious.

• Crypto Privacy Coins Are Going Nuts: Will It Last? - Yahoo Finance

  More recently, Monero, another privacy alternative, broke into new all-time-high territory just yesterday, eclipsing $667 per coin. Traders who missed the first leg started chasing "the next privacy meta." But dig deeper and you'll find a confluence of factors that go well beyond technicals. The EU's DAC8 directive, which began requiring crypto service providers to collect user tax data on January 1, 2026, has reignited the narrative that privacy is a feature not a bug. [...] Dubai added fuel to the fire. The Dubai Financial Services Authority brought into force its updated regulatory framework for crypto tokens in the Dubai International Financial Centre, explicitly banning privacy tokens across trading, promotion, fund activity, and derivatives. The framework also prohibits regulated firms from using mixers, tumblers, and other obfuscation services. This regulatory crackdown arrives precisely as privacy coins catch a bid. In markets, that kind of tension often amplifies volatility rather than suppressing it. Sometimes it amplifies pessimism, but this time it seems to have helped amplify bullishness—traders read the ban as confirmation that privacy matters enough to regulate. [...] The question now is: Can it last? The catalyst appears simple on the surface: In late September of last year, traders’ attentions suddenly turned to the privacy coin Zcash, with trades as ZEC. Privacy coins, unlike standard cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, make it difficult if not impossible to trace individual transactions and the source of funds for accounts. In October, the entrepreneur and AngelList founder Naval Ravikant tweeted: “Bitcoin is insurance against fiat [currency]. Zcash is insurance against Bitcoin,” suggesting investors should rethink the transparency that digital assets like Bitcoin afford. And the newfound attention on privacy coins only swelled from there, with ZEC nearly breaking an eight-year all-time high price in early November.

• Privacy coins | TRM Glossary

  The key features of privacy coins include: Enhanced privacy: Privacy coins use various methods to hide transaction information, including sender and recipient addresses, transaction amounts, and wallet balances. Fungibility: By obscuring transaction history, privacy coins aim to make all coins indistinguishable from one another, enhancing their fungibility. Decentralization: Many privacy coins maintain a decentralized network structure, aligning with the core principles of cryptocurrency. Common use cases for privacy coins include: [...] Please be vigilant about TRM impersonation scams, especially those claiming to assist with fund recovery. More info RESOURCES Customers Company LoginRequest a demo en Search Search Back to Glossary # Privacy coins Table of contents ## What are privacy coins? Privacy coins, or Anonymity Enhanced Coins (AECs), are cryptocurrencies designed to enhance user privacy and transaction anonymity. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, they obscure transaction details through cryptographic techniques, making them difficult to trace. ‍ {{horizontal-line}} ## What are the key features and common use cases of privacy coins / Anonymity Enhanced Coins? The key features of privacy coins include: [...] For compliance professionals, privacy coins present a few unique challenges: ### KYC/AML procedures ‍The enhanced privacy features of privacy coins can complicate Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, making it difficult for compliance teams within crypto businesses and financial institutions to verify the source of funds and monitor suspicious activities. ### Risk assessment ‍Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) need to develop robust risk assessment frameworks to evaluate the potential risks associated with privacy coins. ### Regulatory compliance ‍Compliance officers must stay informed about evolving regulations concerning privacy coins and implement appropriate policies to ensure adherence to legal requirements. ‍ {{horizontal-line}}

• Privacy Coins: Legitimate Uses and Illicit Risks Explained

  Zero-Knowledge Proofs: This cryptographic technique allows one party to prove to another party that they possess certain information without revealing the information itself. In the context of privacy coins, it allows users to prove they have sufficient funds for a transaction without revealing the balance in their wallet. [...] Ultimately, the responsible use of privacy coins will be key to determining their long-term impact on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. By understanding the technical intricacies, legitimate use cases, and potential risks associated with privacy coins, individuals and organizations can make informed decisions and contribute to a more secure and responsible cryptocurrency ecosystem. Download Complete White paper [...] Ring Signatures: This technology enables a group of users to sign a transaction. Essentially, any member of the group can create the signature, making it impossible to pinpoint who specifically endorsed the message. This anonymity is a core feature for privacy since it's incredibly difficult to crack the code and identify the exact signer within the group. Stealth Addresses: In addition to ring signatures, privacy coins often utilize another cryptographic technique called stealth addresses. Unlike traditional reusable wallet addresses, a stealth address is a unique, one-time address generated for each transaction. This address is created by the sender on the recipient's behalf, adding another layer of anonymity.

• Privacy - Bitcoin Wiki

  #### Private information retrieval In cryptography, a private information retrieval (PIR) protocol is a protocol that allows a user to retrieve an item from a server in possession of a database without revealing which item is retrieved. This has been proposed as a way to private synchronize wallet history but as PIR is so resource-intensive, users who don't mind spending bandwidth and time could just run a full node instead. #### Client-side block filtering [...] Financial privacy is an essential criteria for the efficient operation of a free market: if you run a business, you cannot effectively set prices if your suppliers and customers can see all your transactions against your will. You cannot compete effectively if your competition is tracking your sales. Individually your informational leverage is lost in your private dealings if you don't have privacy over your accounts: if you pay your landlord in Bitcoin without enough privacy in place, your landlord will see when you've received a pay raise and can hit you up for more rent. [...] Scriptless scripts") are a set of cryptographic protocols which provide a way of replicating the logic of script without actually having the script conditions visible, which increases privacy and scalability by removing information from the blockchain. This is generally aimed at protocols involving Hash Time Locked Contracts such as Lightning Network and CoinSwap.