A Conversation on Zcash With Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Zooko Wilcox

Our co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss recently held a Twitter Q&A with Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox following the launch of shielded Zcash (ZEC) withdrawals on the Gemini platform. They discussed misconceptions around the anonymity of Bitcoin, the importance of financial privacy in the modern world, and how regulation and privacy can co-exist.

Here, we have collected a few soundbites from the Q&A:

As transactions move increasingly online there is a desire for more anonymity and control in our financial lives and ZEC shielded withdrawals can play an important role in providing you with the privacy you deserve.

*There are false narratives around Bitcoin being anonymous — it is really anything but. As we move more and more online, our transactions, especially in the case of Bitcoin, are pretty out in the open. We have seen surveillance capitalism, we have seen the stories, we know what is happening with data and privacy on that level — money is the next battleground. * — Cameron Winklevoss

Your individual data is collected across the web, and financial data can provide expansive insights into your private financial life. Controlling the dissemination of that data is not always possible, but shielded ZEC withdrawals provide a unique opportunity to do so.

*We know now that data is valuable, it's exploitable, it's dangerous, it’s intimate, and it’s personal. * — Zooko Wilcox

Both Gemini and Zcash have worked closely with regulators across the globe, and the launch of shielded ZEC withdrawals helps illustrate that privacy coins are not inherently problematic for regulators.

*I think the Gemini Zcash announcement is a blueprint for future discussions with regulators. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the premier regulator in New York and a bellwether for regulation in the U.S. and around the world, got comfortable with Zcash so every other regulator should hopefully be able to find comfort in it too. * — Tyler Winklevoss

Missed the livestream or want more insights? Watch the Twitter Q&A with Tyler Winklevoss, Cameron Winklevoss, and Zooko Wilcox here.

Onward and Upward!

Team Gemini