Learn more about the 2025 Coin Center Annual Dinner

Privacy & Autonomy

Cryptocurrencies are the first digital analog to physical cash. Until now, to transact online, one had had to use a third party intermediary, like a bank or payments service. That third party will see everything you are doing, and they can decide not to let you transact.

Cash–electronic or otherwise–is more than a method of payment. It is a fundamental tool for individual privacy and autonomy, and it is necessary for an open society. It is an escape valve in our increasingly intermediated and surveilled world.