The Blockchain Socialist Delete Coinbase! Use this instead... w/ UnhappyBen (Peer.xyz)
Feb 23, 2026
Ben Renshaw (UnhappyBen), head of growth at Peer and early crypto advocate, discusses a privacy-first P2P on/off-ramp using neobanks and zero-knowledge proofs. He explains ZK-TLS, non-custodial escrow smart contracts, and how Peer sidesteps KYC and data risks. They cover real-world solidarity uses, regional integrations like Revolut and Alipay, and plans for mobile apps and SDKs.
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From User To Head Of Growth
- Ben joined Peer after being a user and telling the founders "your marketing sucks" then offering to help; he now leads growth.
- He helped rebrand ZKP2P to Peer and launch a third product iteration within a year.
KYC Became A Data Honeypot
- KYC began as a useful identity check but has become a honeypot of personal data vulnerable to leaks and abuse.
- Ben cites Coinbase leaks and described compliance teams outsourcing, leading to single-point insider attack risks.
Privacy Enables Positive Political Uses
- Zero-knowledge proofs enable a privacy posture: privacy doesn't equal secrecy and can enable legitimate private uses like donations and political funding.
- Peer positions this as a positive tool to let people fund causes or use DeFi without exposing identities.
