The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a delayed financial surveillance and privacy-related roundtable on December 15.
This provides a platform for direct interaction with builders of privacy-centric cryptocurrency systems.
SEC, opening opportunities in privacy technology
The SEC has announced that it will explore the workings of privacy protection technologies in this session. It will also investigate how these tools intersect with existing surveillance expectations in the financial markets.
Zcash founder Juko Wilcox is expected to present at the event. Other participants include Aleo Network Foundation CEO Alex Pruden, Predicates CEO Nikhil Raghuvanshi, and SpruceID founder Wayne Cheng.
Their participation demonstrates the organization's attempt to gather opinions from teams building zero-knowledge proofs, identity systems, and confidential computing frameworks.
Additionally, Hester Peirce, who leads the SEC cryptocurrency task force, stated that she wants a clearer perspective on the tools shaping modern digital transactions. She added that new insights could help financial institutions reconsider their supervisory approaches without restricting citizens' freedoms.
"New technologies provide new opportunities to recalibrate financial surveillance measures to protect the freedoms that make our nation and the United States unique," she said.
Her remarks provide an opportunity to review how privacy-based infrastructure fits into broader digital asset policies.
Increased interest in privacy tokens
Craig Salem, Chief Legal Officer of Grayscale, stated that the roundtable is also an opportunity for the industry to demonstrate that privacy protocols can coexist with regulatory objectives.
Salem stated that active engagement with policymakers is essential for teams worried about existential regulatory risks. He added that this forum gives practical meaning to the long-standing demand from cryptocurrency companies to 'come in and talk.'
This year, as regulatory authorities in various regions have expanded monitoring requirements, there has been a surge in interest in privacy tools. This trend has led many cryptocurrency users to adopt systems that hide transaction details or limit data exposure.
These changes are reflected in market performance.
According to data from Artemis, privacy-focused tokens have surged over 237% in 2025. This rise is partly attributed to a strong rebound in controversial projects like Zcash and Monero.
This roundtable shows that the SEC is beginning to recognize privacy technology as central to the structure of the cryptocurrency market. This indicates that today’s policy decisions will shape how those systems expand in the future.
