Binance's CZ echoes Consensus panelists on lack of privacy blocking crypto adoption

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Binance's CZ echoes Consensus panelists on lack of privacy blocking crypto adoption Lack of privacy is a barrier to both everyday and institutional use of crypto and blockchain technology, CZ and institutions argue. By Omkar Godbole | Edited by Oliver Knight Updated Feb 16, 2026, 8:41 a.m. Published Feb 16, 2026, 8:40 a.m. Make us preferred on Google Changpeng "CZ" Zhao (Nikhilesh De/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Crypto leaders including Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao warn that the radical transparency of public blockchains is deterring mass adoption of crypto. Institutional executives at firms such as Abraxas Capital, JPMorgan and B2C2 say large transactions require privacy so that only authorized parties can see who is behind deals, even as activity remains auditable. A recent $50 million commercial paper issuance on Solana by JPMorgan and Galaxy Digital showcased the promise of tokenized debt but also underscored that institutions will not move assets on-chain at scale until privacy and execution certainty improve. Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao warns crypto's lack of privacy blocks everyday adoption, echoing CoinDesk Consensus Hong Kong panelists who called it a barrier to widespread institutional use. Blockchain's total transparency gets hyped as the ultimate democratization middle finger to shady banks and Wall Street fat cats operating in the dark. But here's the catch: it means anyone globally can snoop on your send amounts, wallet balances, and deals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Picture wiring your salary or sealing a big business move that has the whole world reading every digit – not desirable, right? That's precisely the issue here. Crypto's been screaming for Main Street and Wall Street adoption for years, yet this same "killer feature" of zero privacy is slamming the brakes hard. "(Lack of) Privacy may [be] the missing link for crypto payments adoption. Imagine, a company pays employees in crypto on-chain. With the current state of crypto, you can pretty much see how much everyone in the company is paid (by clicking the from address)," CZ said on X on Sunday. Institutions share that concern Fabio Frontini, chief executive officer of Abraxas Capital Management, highlighted the need for privacy in large institutional transactions if the use of public blockchains on Wall Street is to become the norm. "The privacy—especially for large transactions—is the key point, I think, particularly for institutional players," says Abraxas Capital Management CEO Fabio Frontini. "Total transparency isn't particularly good. Actually, you want transactions to be auditable and visible, but only to certain people who should know exactly who's behind them," Frontini said during the panel " The 2026 Outlook: The Institutional Market Cycle ," in Hong Kong last week. Frontini was responding to a question about when institutional use of blockchain to issue traditional instruments like commercial paper will go from an experimental stunt to an everyday norm. Wall Street giant JPMorgan tested these waters in December by arranging a landmark $50 million U.S. commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital Holdings LP on the Solana blockchain. Coinbase Global and Franklin Templeton snapped it up, with issuance and redemption settled in Circle's USDC stablecoin for near-instant delivery-versus-payment. JPMorgan handled structuring and on-chain token creation, while Galaxy Digital Partners LLC acted as the structuring agent. The landmark deal highlighted the use of public blockchains like Solana for tokenizing debt, but also exposed the lack of transparency. Emma Lovett, the credit lead for the Markets Distributed Ledger Technology team at JP Morgan, who was one of the panelists, stressed that institutions won't shift massive assets on-chain at scale until they can trust the system won't expose them. "They need to be confident that it's not going to take one person to find out what their address is and then know all the transactions they've done—that's really key," Lovett said. Thomas Restout, group CEO of institutional-grade liquidity provider B2C2, agreed that privacy is key while highlighting "certainty of execution" as another key factor. "It's still a space that institutions aren't comfortable with. They also need partners. You look at other chains that have gone private and are developing a lot for institutions. So if you're a large institution, you always have to imagine that you're not going to try this for $10,000—you're going to have to do this for $10 trillion. And therefore, the level of certainty you need to achieve to operate at that scale is very high," he explained. Privacy Changpeng "CZ" Zhao JPMorgan More For You Accelerating Convergence Between Traditional and On-Chain Finance in 2026? By CoinDesk Jan 30, 2026 Commissioned by Societe Generale-FORGE Read full story More For You Crypto market drowns in red as bitcoin falls to $68,000 By Omkar Godbole 1 hour ago Traders are bracing for a heavy week of macroeconomic events, including Fed minutes and the core PCE inflation report. What to know : Bitcoin wilts, pushing the broader market into the red. Losses have hit 85 out of the top 100 tokens. The sell-off comes despite weaker U.S. inflation data that strengthened expectations for at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts. Traders are bracing for a heavy week of macroeconomic events, including Fed minutes and the core PCE inflation report. Read full story Latest Crypto News OKX snags European payments license for stablecoin and crypto card expansion 42 minutes ago Crypto market drowns in red as bitcoin falls to $68,000 1 hour ago Wall Street giant Apollo deepens crypto push with Morpho token deal 11 hours ago Hong Kong is trying to build up its crypto regulations: State of Crypto 13 hours ago Prediction markets vs. insider trading: Founders admit blockchain transparency is the only defense 14 hours ago BlackRock's digital assets head: Leverage-driven volatility threatens bitcoin’s narrative 18 hours ago Top Stories Elon Musk's X to launch crypto and stock trading in ‘couple weeks’ Feb 14, 2026 Wall Street remains bullish on bitcoin while offshore traders retreat 20 hours ago Crypto group counters Wall Street bankers with its own stablecoin principles for bill Feb 13, 2026 Recapping Consensus Hong Kong Feb 13, 2026 Trump-linked Truth Social seeks SEC approval for two crypto ETFs Feb 13, 2026 Wall Street analysts slash Coinbase price targets after Q4 miss — but shares rally Feb 13, 2026