Binance Founder CZ: Privacy 'Missing Link' for Crypto Payments Adoption

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has argued that privacy is the most significant unresolved challenge facing crypto, and that the industry needs to move faster to address it.

"I think privacy plays a very fundamental role in our society," CZ said. "But right now, I also think that Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies do not have enough privacy features.”

“When Bitcoin was designed, it was going to be pseudo-anonymous,” he added, noting that, “the fact is, every transaction on the blockchain can be traced, especially now we have a centralized exchange with KYC.”

CZ argued that the industry still lacks a workable answer on payment privacy, noting it must “figure out how to evolve the privacy features,” an area he said “no one’s really focusing on right now.”

While some privacy coins exist, CZ noted, they remain small, with “not much market cap” and “not much size.”

"(Lack of) Privacy may be the missing link for crypto payments adoption," he said.

(Lack of) Privacy may the missing link for crypto payments adoption.

He used the example of a company that pays employees in crypto on-chain. “With the current state of crypto, you can pretty much see how much everyone in the company is paid (by clicking the from address)," CZ wrote.

Binance has historically cited trading volume, liquidity, and safety standards when reviewing assets for delisting, stating it acts "when a coin or token no longer meets this standard, or the industry changes."

Privacy coins themselves "aren't necessarily the answer here," Nic Puckrin, digital asset analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau, told Decrypt. Instead, he argued, the focus should be on “widescale privacy preserving infrastructure for businesses.” Puckrin added that, “It's not about making payments untraceable—it's about keeping them private while complying with regulators and authorities.”

For his part, CZ argued that, "There are real use cases for privacy, which Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies do not provide." While conceding that there's a "counter argument" that "law enforcement want to track down bad guys," he argued that "can be done," without elaborating. He added, "I'm supportive of that, but there are fundamental privacy issues."