Why the Privacy Coins Mania Is Much More Than Price Action - Ep. 945

Unchained

Laura Shin

News, Tech News, Business News

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Josh Swihart, CEO of the Electric Coin Company, which created Zcash, and Harry Halpin, co-founder of Nym, join Laura to delve into why privacy coins have taken off, and why technology is suddenly at the center of conversations involving governments, financial institutions, and national security officials. They discuss what’s actually driving the privacy coin renaissance, why transparent ledgers create risks far beyond user behavior, and how technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and mixnets are reshaping what’s possible onchain. Josh and Harry also break down exchange support, institutional interest, the Zcash DAT, upcoming Zcash upgrades, and whether Ethereum or Solana (or others) can realistically add privacy to chains that were never designed for it. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Uniswap Guests: Josh Swihart, CEO of the Electric Coin Company Harry Halpin, CEO and Co-founder of Nym Technologies Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Teaser Clip 🎙️ 1:14 Introduction 🌅 1:29 The reasons why Harry and Josh say we’re in a privacy “renaissance” 🛡️ 11:00 Why privacy matters, and how Harry first got pulled into the space 🔐 15:59 How zero-knowledge proofs and other privacy technologies actually work ⚡ 21:12 Why Josh started Zcash and what his long-term vision looks like 📊 24:48 The real-world ways Zcash is being used 💸 28:40 How the Winklevoss brothers are backing the new wave of privacy projects 🏛️ 30:12 How centralized exchanges should support privacy 🕵️ 35:56 Why financial institutions are suddenly interested in privacy and why governments see it as a national-security issue 🌐 38:42 How Nym aims to protect metadata and network-level privacy 🪙 44:47 Why Nym has a token and what role it plays 🔭 49:53 What’s coming next for privacy tech and for Zcash 🧱 54:55 Whether Ethereum, Solana, or other L1s can realistically add privacy to chains that weren’t designed for it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey all, before we begin, I've got some exciting news to share. We've been working on something
0:05.9	a little wild behind the scenes. It's called Unchained On Air, a revamped live stream series and podcast
0:12.7	feed that takes you way beyond the headlines. It features sharp, maybe even controversial,
0:18.6	takes on major events, and the kind of on-chain intel that never makes it to your feed. Way more shows, way more often, each one laser-focused on a different slice of crypto and finance. First up is decks in the city, where the wallets are cold and the takes are hot, with Jesse Brooks, Catherineatherine kirkpatrick baws and v lee three powerhouse lawyers
0:40.8	gathering to dish about the latest from defy enforcement to token regulation and everything in between
0:46.5	it live streams every t t t t uneas uneasy money because what happens on chain never stays on chain with
0:57.0	Lucan Nets, Kane Warwick, and Taylor Monaghan. Three OG-DFI builders unpacking everything
1:03.2	happening on chain, from tokenomics to dows, from hacks to yields. It airs Wednesdays at 3pm
1:10.5	ET. And finally, Bits and Bips the interview,
1:14.7	an addition to our group chat show, in which our executive editor, Stephen Erlich, takes you
1:20.2	deeper with one-on-one conversations. This streams on Thursdays at 12 p.m. ET. To catch the live
1:27.1	streams, follow Unchained on X,
1:29.6	subscribe on YouTube, or find us on your favorite streaming platform now. And don't forget to hit
1:34.9	the bell icon so you never miss a show. And if you can't make the live stream, these episodes
1:40.2	will show up in your podcast feed the very next day. Thanks as always for your support.
1:46.2	Every country wants to be able to kind of protect its own privacy or the privacy of its citizens.
1:51.9	And by allowing these kind of transparent transactions or at least not supporting the option to
1:58.4	encrypt them, they're creating risks actually to themselves.
2:05.1	Hey, everyone. Welcome to Unchained, your no-hyber resource for all things crypto. I'm your host,
2:10.2	Laura Shin. Before we get started, a quick reminder, nothing you hear on Unchained is investment advice.
2:15.8	This show is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and my guest and I may hold
2:21.0	assets discussed on the show.
	...

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