CoinDesk Podcast Network Zcash Founder Zooko Wilcox: Surveillance Is a "Dangerous Experiment"
Dec 10, 2025
Zooko Wilcox, founder of Zcash and a pioneer in privacy-preserving digital money, discusses the critical role of privacy in society. He emphasizes that a rising Zcash price can empower decentralized innovation and warns against the dangers of a surveillance economy. Zooko argues that traditional privacy is essential for agency and stability, while also outlining how retail use and institutional adoption of Zcash can reinforce each other. He shares visions of a future where Zcash replaces fiat money, improving our financial landscape.
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Price Growth Funds Development
- Higher Zcash prices increase funding for development via the Dev Fund and thus strengthen the protocol's future.
- Holders and builders benefit when the coin appreciates because it powers ongoing, decentralized work.
Surveillance Is A Dangerous Experiment
- Modern mass surveillance is a radical, dangerous experiment that destabilizes society and concentrates power.
- Zooko Wilcox argues cryptographic privacy simply restores historical norms of private speech and transactions.
Privacy Equals Personal Agency
- Privacy is fundamentally about individual agency: deciding who sees your messages and transactions.
- Zooko frames Zcash as 'high agency' money that restores that individual control online.