Interesting news is coming from the Zcash (ZEC) camp. It turns out that Edward Snowden is hiding under the pseudonym John Dobbertin as one of the main creators of the popular privacy coin.
Zcash Media profile reveals
In a publication on the Twitter profile of Zcash Media, we can watch an interview with Edward Snowden, in which he talks about his contribution to the creation of the Zcash protocol. According to his words, he was one of the six people involved in the creation of the coin who held the blockchain’s multi-declaration private key in October 2016.
As we can hear:
“My name is Edward Snowden. I participated in the original Zcash ceremony under the pseudonym John Dobbertin.”
Later in the statement, Snowden points out the special properties of Zcash and compares the project to Bitcoin. In his words:
“I am very pleased that the Zcash project is bringing us closer to the ideal of a free currency that is also a private currency […] The problem with Bitcoin is that you can’t have truly free trade if you don’t have private trade.”
Who is Edward Snowden?
Edward Snowden is a 1983-born former CIA employee who was also employed by Dell, working on NSA contracts. He is a well-known whistleblower who has leaked several hundred thousand pieces of confidential and top secret information to the press. To date, his action is considered to be the largest leak ever to affect the United States. Because these acts are considered illegal, Snowden fled North America, seeking asylum, which he received in 2013 on Russian soil. As of October 2020, he is eligible for permanent residency there.
At the Zcash launch ceremony, he was one of six people who linked together their own portion of the private key. None of the attendees had any idea who the others were or what part of the key they were in possession of. The goal was to protect privacy, which as we know guides the idea of the project. Later, a portion of each creator’s key was destroyed. This was a precautionary measure to prevent possible counterfeiting of both coins and transactions.
What is Zcash?
Zcash (ZEC) is a decentralized blockchain. It is based on the so-called zero knowledge proof. Its main characteristic is that coin-based transactions are impossible to track. The same applies to their value. At the time of writing this article, ZEC ranks 51st among coins with the highest market capitalization, which is just under $2 billion.
