The X cryptocurrency neighborhood has been dominated by outstanding figures advocating for the adoption of Zcash as privateness turns into more and more threatened by governments and regulators.
In accordance with StarkWare founder Eli Ben Sasson, a outstanding mathematician who helped pioneer zero-knowledge proofs, the Winklevoss twins Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan assist the adoption of Zcash (ZEC), whose success might immediate the Bitcoin ecosystem to rethink reinvigorating OP_CAT and push for extra privateness options.
Zcash is impressed by Bitcoin
In 2014, Ben-Sasson and his co-authors printed Zerocash: Decentralized Nameless Funds with Bitcoin.
This white paper was the end result of six years of theoretical analysis. Since 2008, Ben-Sasson and his collaborators have been engaged on general-purpose zero-knowledge proof methods. They did not have a use case, however they knew this expertise was extremely highly effective.
Zcash has been trending on cryptocurrency Twitter for a number of months.
Not many individuals know the within story behind the most important cryptocurrency within the privateness house.
Chatting with @EliBenSasson in regards to the historical past of @Zcash and the ZK expertise behind it.
Be a part of @rkbaggs stay! https://t.co/ZRh96OzBD7
— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) November 10, 2025
“We knew that zero-knowledge proofs would resolve two issues: scalability and privateness. Zero-knowledge proofs present completeness. Principally, zero-knowledge proofs will let you be assured that the fitting factor was completed, even if you weren’t wanting, even if you didn’t really see all the small print,” Ben Sasson stated on Cointelegraph’s Chain Response stay present on X.
All the pieces modified in 2013 when Ben-Sasson spoke about ZK at one of many early variations of the Bitcoin convention.
“After I acquired off the rostrum, some very influential Bitcoin OGs like Greg Maxwell and Mike Hahn got here collectively and stated, ‘Okay, the place is that expertise? When is that code going to be obtainable?'” And I requested them, ‘Why do you want it? ”
Associated: The reality behind the return of privacy-focused protocol Zcash in 2025
These early Bitcoin (BTC) builders and supporters have outlined a number of methods Bitcoin may gain advantage from new methodologies. Abruptly, ZK Proof discovered a lethal use case.
“So we labored very onerous to publish one thing that reveals how this expertise can resolve probably the most vital issues in blockchain: the truth that if you make a Bitcoin transaction, everybody can see the quantity and just about know who paid how a lot to whom.”
This transparency, though by design, means that there’s a component of transparency that’s unavoidable when utilizing Bitcoin. ZK proofs present an answer, however attributable to a choice made by Satoshi Nakamoto a few years in the past, Bitcoin’s code can’t comprise ZK proofs.
Why OP_CAT is the important thing to Bitcoin privateness
Ben Sasson stated Bitcoin might nonetheless preserve its native privateness and infinite scalability if builders might comply with reinstate OP_CAT (the Satoshi-era OP_Code that Bitcoin’s creators disabled in 2010).
He additionally identified that the return of Zcash in 2025 may very well be a possible catalyst for Bitcoin’s privateness push.
There have been whispers that Bitcoin hodlers are exchanging BTC for Zcash 🤔🔏
why? Some Bitcoin customers need extra privateness when making transactions.
Nonetheless, Bitcoin can preserve native privateness and scale. @EliBenSasson explains how ZK proofing and OP_CAT are key 🗝️👇
I caught it… pic.twitter.com/UTwb6U2hbg
— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) November 12, 2025
“We hope that because of this, the Bitcoin neighborhood might be extra open to issues like OP_CAT and OP_STARK to carry post-quantum safety, privateness, scale, and programmability to this stunning onerous asset that’s Bitcoin,” stated Ben Sasson.
“The expertise is prepared. All it takes is a mushy fork that provides the 9 strains of code that Satoshi really launched. It is referred to as OP_CAT. It’s extremely, very straightforward. The place there is a will, there is a means. On this case, it is a very simple strategy to give Bitcoin all of the goodness of itself.”
Associated: Leap Therapeutics soars 170% after Winklevoss-backed $50M acquisition of Zcash
Distinguished Bitcoiners on social media have barely talked about the Zcash story, and there’s nonetheless no critical dialogue about find out how to enhance privateness when utilizing Bitcoin for funds.
Cointelegraph additionally spoke completely with Gemini co-founders Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss at Bitcoin Amsterdam, the place they defined their perception in Zcash’s potential to enhance Bitcoin.
The twins made headlines in November after they introduced the launch of Cipherpunk Applied sciences, a ZEC-based monetary firm, after buying and rebranding Nasdaq-listed Leap Therapeutics.
journal: 2026 is the 12 months of sensible privateness in crypto: Canton, Zcash and extra
