Crypto Leaders Urge SEC to Embrace Privacy Tools Amid Surveillance Debate

Several speakers framed privacy as a necessity for on-chain finance. StarkWare general counsel Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos said full transparency can expose trading strategies. She also said it can reveal sensitive business data and deter . She pointed to selective disclosure systems that confirm facts without sharing extra information.

Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox described privacy as a user choice in transaction design. He said privacy features can coexist with accountability and compliance options. Blockchain Association chief executive Summer Mersinger called for digital identity models that let users choose disclosures, rather than broad data collection.

The roundtable unfolded as prosecutors and courts continue to test how laws apply to privacy software. A New York jury convicted Tornado Cash co-founder in August 2025 on an unlicensed money-transmitting conspiracy count. Jurors deadlocked on other charges, and Storm faces up to five years in prison.

At the same time, DOJ officials have signaled narrower theories for developer liability. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said prosecutors have heard concerns about charging developers who publish code. He said writing code without criminal intent is not a crime.