Elena Giralt said that it is only possible to trace public Zcash transactions. Giralt believes that blockchain espionage forces projects to optimize their privacy.

“Advances from blockchain surveillance companies like Chainalysis and Elliptic do not affect Zcash’s privacy.” That is the opinion of Elena Giralt, head of marketing for Electric Coin Company, the firm that leads the development of this cryptocurrency.

In recent days, Giralt established a differentiation between public and private transactions that are possible through the Zcash protocol.

In this regard, the company’s representative stated that it is only possible to monitor the public transactions of this currency, but the same does not happen with its private transactions.

Although it is not possible to trace private transactions but only public ones, the discrimination between the two types would facilitate identifying and even censoring private transactions, which could lessen the incentive to use them.

Regardless of the discussion about whether or not Zcash’s privacy is at risk, Giralt considered it important to note that “if someone can monitor transactions on a cryptocurrency network, which shows the lack of privacy of that protocol.”

Beyond criticizing surveillance companies, Giralt is inclined to see in the espionage by these companies the emergence of a new need. In this regard, she said that it is necessary “to struggle to have a technology that really provides privacy.”

Additionally, she reflected on the growing interest of governments, banks, and financial institutions in tracing private transactions with cryptocurrencies. She believes that this is the result of users’ concern for their privacy and the use of these types of tools.

On the one hand, Chainalysis and Elliptic announced that they would begin tracking activity on the Zcash blockchain. On the other hand, governments like that of the United States are exploring tools like these to reduce the privacy of various cryptocurrencies and even payment solutions such as Bitcoin’s Lightning network.

Zcash Protocol and Privacy in Transactions

Zcash uses a so-called “zero knowledge” transaction confirmation system, which Giralt describes as a process to verify that a transaction is true, “without knowing the details of the fact.”

To get the chain started, there is a “ceremony” on the Zcash network during which the “trusted setup” of zero-knowledge proof transactions receives approval.

Giralt acknowledged that this type of configuration has not been without controversy. She says that there have even been initiatives that propose to eradicate this configuration methodology, but keeping the confirmation mechanism.

The controversy arises from the fact that it is necessary to “trust that the people who are approving the configuration are not cheating”. Not all people interested in the project regard it favorably, according to the representative of Electric Coin Company.

Venezuela and Use of Cryptocurrencies

Elena Giralt believes that cryptocurrencies have “a more enthusiastic audience in Venezuela” than in other countries due to its particular economic situation.

However, she considers that it is not right to refer to Venezuela as a “crypto paradise” or a “crypto nation”. Although there is interest from the population and companies working in the area of ​​cryptocurrencies, Giralt thinks that many are trying to take advantage of the Venezuelan case as an opportunity to market their projects or particular cryptocurrencies.

Giralt said that many seek to sponsor or offer their projects as a “solution” for Venezuela. However, she explained that part of the interest from emerging cryptocurrency companies grew out of a curiosity to consider the South American country as a possible use case.

By Willmen Blanco

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here