How do you see the privacy coin market evolving in the next 3–5 years? What key trends and challenges do you anticipate?
I believe we are now entering the stage of adoption in the privacy coin market. Major security breaches and recent crackdowns on privacy have sparked an interest in privacy and privacy coins.
Recently, Tornado Cash won a major legal battle for privacy in the USA, making people more comfortable with the idea of using obfuscation for funds. It is no longer perceived as a tool for criminals but as a tool to protect oneself from prying eyes. Privacy is a human right, and coins such as PIVX simply provide the tools to protect this right.
The biggest challenge to this is regulation at the moment. PIVX has overcome this by introducing exchange addresses to allow those who operate a business that requires transparency to only engage with transparent PIVX transactions.
There are also discussions with a few major cryptocurrencies to integrate privacy. I truly believe it will become the norm soon, as it’s simply the safest option for anyone. PIVX, being one of the first, has set a standard, and this is going to make PIVX shine especially with the optional privacy, which resolves many issues around regulation.
Ultimately, I believe the future for privacy projects is bright. Many of our new and upcoming partnerships have all embraced us and our privacy protocol. In the past, we faced scrutiny, but this is mostly not the case now, a clear indicator of privacy becoming a standard. I am excited for the future of PIVX in this sector.
Where do you believe PIVX currently stands in the market, and what are its biggest opportunities for growth?
PIVX dimmed out in recent years, largely due to the influx of memecoins. We also had a lack of funding and no dedicated business development activities. This has completely changed since the introduction of our new budget, which introduced new team members and roles.
Since taking on the role of business development head, we have successfully established major partnerships, such as NowPayments, Travala, Coinomi, as well as new exchange listings on top exchanges such as MEXC, Binance (USDT), BitMart, Lbank, and more. This shows major strength in a coin that was created at the beginning of the cryptocurrency cycle and will allow us to slowly but surely overcome all future challenges and to secure PIVX as a top privacy cryptocurrency.
Regarding our position from a technical standpoint, PIVX became the first-ever proof-of-stake cryptocurrency to incorporate ZK-Snarks and is currently working on becoming the first to allow private staking and masternodes. I believe we blaze the trail by providing sound security, fast transactions, functionality, and ease of use, with an expanding team that is going to introduce PIVX to many more. The future for PIVX is bright.
What are your thoughts on the role of regulatory compliance in PIVX’s business development strategy, and how would you navigate potential challenges?
It is key that we pay attention to regulatory demands so that we can provide PIVX globally without issues in terms of exchanges. However, as a decentralised project, our blockchain will go on regardless.
Because we care about following regulations, we keep in touch with our exchange partners. Binance recently asked for “Exchange Addresses,” a feature that limits them to receiving only the basic, transparent PIVX. This would make PIVX completely compliant due to a lack of privacy on said exchanges. This doesn’t remove privacy on our blockchain. Users who value protecting their financial data can always withdraw and send it to a SHIELD address.
Our team is active and willing to work with all of our partners and regulatory environments to deliver our project globally without issues, and most of all, to give our users a secure and sound blockchain that protects their financial data.
What are your thoughts on the integration of privacy features into other blockchain ecosystems and the potential for interoperability?
I believe it is very transformative and in the right direction for projects to integrate privacy features. It would also be a great introduction for PIVX as it is one of the earliest projects to incorporate privacy and the first-ever Proof of Stake blockchain to integrate ZK-Snarks (SHIELD) as a privacy protocol. I also believe PIVX, with its optional privacy integration, would be an inspiration for many existing and new projects that want to integrate privacy.
Having the freedom of choice makes things easier for those who require a transparent ledger, versus having some transactions that need to remain out of public sight, such as retail or savings. Having this model also makes PIVX regulatory compliant and a great example to replicate.
Allowing for interoperability would be a great way to incorporate seamless value transfer across other blockchains, whilst preserving privacy through PIVX. I am all for it since it would introduce PIVX to a much wider audience and grow the use of the network. Perhaps it is something that we as a PIVX team can look at and discuss once we achieve our milestone v6.0 release.
What are some common misconceptions about privacy coins that you would like to address?
The most common I’ve seen is the narrative that those who engage with privacy coins have something illicit to hide. I usually combat this with a simple question, “If a stranger were to ask to see your bank statement, would you let them?” This usually results in an immediate no; I then proceed with: “Well are you okay with the entire world seeing your cryptocurrency transactions without your permission?”
Most people fail to realise that relying on a transparent ledger can compromise one’s security and potentially lead to being harmed.
Using private blockchains such as SHIELD by PIVX helps you separate your crypto to prevent malicious parties from tracking your portfolio. I’ll end by saying that privacy coins do not facilitate crime, criminals facilitate crime, and privacy protects you from criminals.
What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned during your time leading business development at PIVX?
Even for a project with a minimal budget, big dreams can be achieved. I have worked alongside many amazing new partners for PIVX, such as Travala, MEXC, NOW Group, and many more, and each has provided a new use case for PIVX.
It is hard, but having a community that unites behind my thinking process and choices makes everything much smoother. I have also learnt that everything in this industry has a ripple effect. What I mean by that is that one small listing or integration for PIVX can lead to another quite easily, as they may work together or use each other’s services.
It has also given me the time to reflect on PIVX and to identify weaknesses and to see that the biggest factor to growth is liquidity. This is now a key focus point for me. I am working alongside major exchanges that support PIVX to identify their liquidity needs so that we may attain other listings on their platform, such as Perpetual contracts, and thus far it has succeeded.
There is a lot to learn, however, I feel that the knowledge that I have gained through numerous conversations with like-minded people will be the driving factor for me to bring PIVX to new audiences, heights, and more use cases.
Beyond privacy, what other unique technological or community-driven advantages does PIVX offer potential partners and users?
A strong selling point I always highlight to our partners is the DAO and self-funded treasury that PIVX has. This mechanism allows for partners to submit their own proposals and to seek funding for work they may want to collaborate on with PIVX. This self-funded treasury guarantees constant development and funding for proposals that pass.
An example of this would be a recent partnership with Coinomi, which has now submitted a proposal for funding through our DAO. Participation in the DAO through such proposals, whether by submitting them or voting on them, is a key strength of the PIVX project. This also helps with our next advantage which is the community. Because PIVX is a DAO, our community has grown used to the fact that they do indeed have a voice when it comes to the decisions made for PIVX and are therefore active and do support us and our partners.
PIVX. Your Rights. Your Privacy. Your Choice.
