The US Securities and Exchange Commission has invited Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox to participate in its December 15 roundtable on privacy and financial surveillance.
The invitation comes amid debates between privacy advocates and prominent figures like Strategy founder Michael Saylor, who is not in support of implementing Zcash-style privacy features in Bitcoin.
The SEC’s Crypto Task Force will be hosting the roundtable at its headquarters with proceedings webcast to the public.
Privacy is up and to the right
The SEC roundtable represents a pivotal moment as regulators, industry leaders, and privacy advocates seek common ground. Other blockchains are now working on privacy-related products and services.
Paxos and Aleo announced in October that they had partnered to create a private and compliant stablecoin. Also, the Ethereum Foundation launched a dedicated privacy team around the same period.
With institutional interest building and philosophical debates on the rise, Zcash finds itself at the center of a brewing conversation about financial privacy in the digital age.
Bitcoin maximalists and privacy advocates clash
The roundtable announcement coincides with a growing philosophical battle over financial privacy in cryptocurrency.
On December 5, Eli Ben-Sasson, a Zcash founding scientist who is now the CEO of StarkWare, revealed details of his conversation with Saylor that reignited market interest in the privacy coin.
Saylor argued that Bitcoin should not incorporate Zcash-style privacy features because doing so would enable nation-states to shut down the flagship cryptocurrency.
Ben-Sasson countered, saying that “There’s a way to have the cake and eat it too.” To him, viewing keys can be allowed alongside shielding.
Cryptopolitan reported in November when Hunter Horsley, chief executive officer of Bitwise, posted on X, “The ‘Bitcoin only, everything else is a scam’ crowd — Is going to get really twisted trying to figure out what to say about Zcash.”
He added, “Looking forward to the creative explanations of why Zcash is not ‘crypto.’” Horsley’s comments sparked a heated debate that brought renewed attention to the privacy coin just as Zcash briefly surged toward $700 in November.
Privacy advocate Naomi Brockwell also shared her thoughts on the matter last month, stating, ”Authoritarians thrive when people have no privacy. When those in charge start being hostile to privacy protections, it is a major red flag.”
Zcash momentum builds on institutional interest
Zcash regained footing above the $375 level on December 5 following the exchange between Saylor and Ben-Sasson. The cryptocurrency is currently trading near $340, down by 10% in the past 24 hours as of the time of writing.
However, its latest figures still show recovery from a decline in late November, the same month in which it exceeded $700, its highest price level this year and in a long time.
Institutional interest has grown with Grayscale filing an S-3 registration statement seeking to convert its existing Zcash Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund. If approved, it would be the first Zcash ETF in the US. The trust currently holds approximately 2.4% of the ZEC in circulation as of September 30, 2025.
Nasdaq-listed insurance group Reliance Global Group converted its entire digital treasury into Zcash, while VanEck’s CEO Jan van Eck flagged Zcash as an alternative to Bitcoin, citing growing concerns over Bitcoin’s long-term cryptographic security and privacy limitations.
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