NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was reportedly involved in creating the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC).
What Happened: According to Forbes, Snowden was revealed to be one of the six creators of Zcash, which has a $2 billion market cap.
A leaked video from Zcash media showed Snowden discussing the need for a more private alternative to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), according to the report.
"Bitcoin quite famously is an open ledger. The problem with that is you can't have truly free trade unless you have private trade. And you can't have a free society without free trade," Snowden is quoted as saying in the video.
Why It Matters: Until recently, the sixth creator of Zcash went by the name John Dobbertin – now revealed as a pseudonym Snowden assumed in a nod to the late German cryptographer Hans Dobbertin, known for tracking down weaknesses in cryptographic algorithms.
Over the years, the former CIA agent has tweeted in favor of Zcash, calling its privacy tech the “most interesting alternative” to Bitcoin.
Agree. Zcash's privacy tech makes it the most interesting Bitcoin alternative. Bitcoin is great, but "if it's not private, it's not safe." https://t.co/HqwQOvSCiz
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 28, 2017
A lot of people wonder why I like #Zcash despite the Founder's Reward. Here's a reason: that tax funds a quality team that catches and kills serious bugs in-house, before they get exploited. Some other projects learn about bugs like this only AFTER people have lost money. https://t.co/i9MD1CpeNx
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 5, 2019
Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Zcash and Monero (CRYPTO: XMR) have seen significant rallies following news that regulators would crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, ZEC was trading at $149.15, up 0.5% over the past 24 hours. The coin has gained 650% since an all-time low of $19.75 two years ago.
Photo courtesy: Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia
