Author: Yam, Golden Finance
"Privacy is not a feature, it's the foundation."
Privacy should be a core design principle and an inherent right, not an optional add-on or merely a selling point, which has become the widely recognized gold standard in the fields of technology and data ethics. This is especially true in the field of encryption.
From Naval recommending the privacy coin Zcash, to Vitalik supporting the sponsorship of privacy communication applications Session and SimpleX, it reflects the urgent desire for privacy within the encryption industry.
However, even this is far from enough; these privacy coins and encrypted communication applications are not enough, Web3 social is the gem on the crown of the encryption industry. Because the importance of community to the encryption industry is self-evident.
If it can achieve a one-stop integrated application of 'Privacy + Web3 Social', it will undoubtedly have the potential to become a killer product in the crypto industry.
Privacy Coin: Naval recommends Zcash
Since the birth of cryptocurrency, privacy coins have always been a significant track. One of the best-performing cryptocurrencies in 2025 is ZCash.
Silicon Valley legendary investor Naval posted on X (formerly Twitter) on October 1, 2025, clearly recommending ZCash: 'Bitcoin is insurance against fiat. ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin.'
The main reason Naval recommends Zcash is for privacy protection: Bitcoin transactions are completely public, with all addresses, amounts, and histories being traceable through on-chain analysis, thus lacking privacy. Even Satoshi Nakamoto himself could not use Bitcoin without exposing his identity because governments, banks, or on-chain analysis companies can monitor all transactions. Zcash, on the other hand, offers true privacy: Zcash uses zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge proofs) technology, supporting 'shielded transactions' that can completely hide details such as sender, receiver, and amount, leaving no traceable marks. This is a hedge against possible future 'surveillance finance.'
In a world of increasingly strict regulation and excessive on-chain transparency, Zcash can serve as 'insurance' against Bitcoin, protecting digital wealth from monitoring, capital controls, or censorship.
Privacy Protection Battle: From He Yi's WeChat Theft to Vitalik Sponsoring Encrypted Communication Applications
ZCash is a privacy product from a monetary perspective. Beyond cryptocurrency, privacy is reflected in all aspects of our daily lives, such as the Web2 social products we use every day. These all require privacy protection. A typical case is the theft of He Yi's WeChat account.
He Yi, co-founder of Binance and the new co-CEO, had his WeChat account stolen around December 9, 2025. Although He Yi had long stopped using the account, the old phone number it was bound to was reclaimed by the carrier and reassigned to someone else, as Chinese phone numbers may be reassigned after being idle for three months. The hacker obtained the verification code through the new number holder, successfully took over the account, and He Yi's circle of friends and multiple groups spread false messages to promote a low liquidity meme coin called Mubarakah (MUBARA), subsequently profiting about $55,000.
Clearly, the traditional identity verification model of Web2 social platforms like WeChat is built on the illusion of trust. Users are forced to hand over their most sensitive personal data and communication information entirely to centralized platforms.
Other Web2 communication applications (such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal) use end-to-end encryption technology, meaning the centralized servers of the platform cannot see the messages users send, protecting some privacy, but still have limitations, such as metadata (who contacts whom, when, frequency, etc.) often being exposed, and generally rely on phone number registration for easy monitoring. This is precisely the problem that Web3 encrypted communication applications aim to solve.
Crypto leaders have long recognized these issues and have begun to support them seriously. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik donated 128 ETH to each of the two encrypted communication projects, Session and SimpleX, at the end of November.
Session: An end-to-end encrypted decentralized instant messaging application. Session allows account creation without a phone number or email address. It uses a randomly generated 66-character alphanumeric combination for user identification. Communication between users, including messages, voice snippets, photos, and files, is end-to-end encrypted using the Session protocol, masked through onion routing, and employs a highly elastic decentralized server architecture. The Session Network is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) consisting of community-operated nodes (called Session nodes). This DePIN infrastructure enables the functionality and scalability of applications by routing and storing data (e.g., messages). Currently, approximately 2,000 nodes serve Session. Session nodes are responsible for storing Session messages, routing session messages, ensuring network security, and maintaining the application chain. Anyone can run a Session node by staking Session tokens and contributing resources (data storage, bandwidth, processing power) to the network. Session issues the token SESH on Arbitrum One, which is an EVM-compatible token used to unlock premium features in the Session messaging program (Session Name Service, Session Pro) and serves as the security and incentive layer for Session nodes.
SimpleX: SimpleX is an open-source instant messaging tool that focuses on 'no user identifiers' — no phone numbers, emails, or random usernames/IDs, supporting end-to-end encryption (E2EE). It is based on the SimpleX Chat protocol, which is used by the SimpleX Chat client to exchange messages. The protocol relies on the underlying SimpleX protocol—the SimpleX Messaging Protocol (SMP) and SimpleX Message Broker Protocol. The SimpleX Chat protocol describes the format of messages and the actions the client should take upon receiving such messages.
Vitalik stated that these two applications represent an experimental direction for 'truly decentralized privacy communication' that can counter regulation (such as the EU's 'Chat Control' proposal) and centralized monitoring.
Evolution of Encrypted IM: One-Stop Encrypted Social Applications
In fact, many Web2 instant messaging (IM) applications are encrypted. However, since they are Web2, it is undeniable that they cannot achieve decentralization and other Web3 functionalities. These Web2 encrypted IM applications include:
WhatsApp: An IM application under Meta, with a massive user base in Web2, over 3 billion global users, end-to-end encryption enabled by default, suitable for ordinary user communication.
iMessage: Apple's built-in IM, which is end-to-end encrypted, meaning only you and the recipient can read the messages, and Apple cannot read them. It uses encryption and signature keys to protect communication; you can further enhance verification by enabling 'Contact Key Verification' to ensure the other party's identity.
Signal: Privacy-focused, strong end-to-end encryption (Signal Protocol), does not collect user data, open source, no ads, completely free, supports voice/video calls, group chats, and ephemeral messages. Widely regarded as the most secure IM software currently available.
Telegram: Feature-rich, similar to WeChat/QQ, supports large groups, channels, file transfers, and private chats ('encrypted chats') use end-to-end encryption. Powerful functionality, large user base, but default chats are not end-to-end encrypted and require enabling 'encrypted chat' mode.
XChat: Launched by X Company (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, it is a brand new encrypted instant messaging application integrated into X, aimed at transforming the X platform into a multifunctional 'super application', providing end-to-end encryption, message self-destruction, file transfer, and audio/video calls without phone numbers, challenging existing communication tools like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Wire: End-to-end encryption, headquartered in Switzerland, protected by strict European privacy laws, open source and independently audited code, suitable for individuals and businesses. Combining high security with quality user experience, supporting multiple account logins.
Threema: Developed in Switzerland, offers anonymous use (no phone or email required), randomly generated IDs, all content is end-to-end encrypted, leaving no data traces. Strong anonymity, advanced data protection concept.
In addition to the above Web2 encrypted IMs, some Web3 encrypted communication tools have emerged, such as Session, recommended by Vitalik.
Session: Has its own Session Network and issues the token SESH on Arbitrum.
Recently, a new Web3 encrypted IM application Luffa has emerged, which offers a one-stop 'Privacy + Web3 Social' function, representing a new evolutionary trend.
Luffa: A decentralized instant messaging application based on Web3, designed for security, built on the Endless protocol, providing a secure and private social experience for global users. Based on a decentralized network, using end-to-end data encryption. Users register and log in using a mnemonic phrase, without connecting or leaking any personal information such as phone numbers or emails. No centralized data backup. Each message is absolutely secure. Only the participants in the conversation can see the messages.
In addition, Luffa integrates Web3 social functions in a one-stop manner. Users can establish on-chain groups in Luffa, which have a dedicated group account capable of receiving, transferring, and airdropping any assets on the Endless Network, thus enhancing rewards, operations, and governance capabilities to promote community development. Luffa natively supports Web3 multi-chain wallets and has issued the Luffa Card. The Luffa Card is a Visa digital card that supports multi-chain USDT top-ups. It can be used for purchases at any merchant that accepts Visa cards globally, making it easy to use crypto assets in real life.
The iOS, Android applications, and desktop version of Luffa have officially been launched in app stores. According to the latest data released by Luffa, its registered users have exceeded 1 million.
Evolution of Encrypted IM
Conclusion: The killer cornerstone of 'Privacy + Web3 Social'
From Naval recommending Zcash to combat financial surveillance, to He Yi's WeChat theft exposing the fatal flaws of centralized communication, and finally to Vitalik generously sponsoring Session and SimpleX, the entire crypto industry has formed a clear consensus: privacy is no longer optional but a fundamental right of digital existence.
However, having only privacy coins or a single encrypted communication tool is far from sufficient. The core of Web3 lies in community and ecology. What we need is a solution that can integrate extreme privacy protection (such as mnemonic login, end-to-end encryption, decentralized storage) with complete Web3 social functionalities (such as on-chain groups, native multi-chain wallets, crypto asset consumption) in a one-stop manner.
The emergence of applications like Luffa is a representation of this trend. They break the boundaries of traditional IM and upgrade secure communication to a 'social is ecology' closed-loop experience. In the future, this type of integrated application of 'Privacy + Web3 Social' will no longer be a niche tool but will become the 'killer' infrastructure of the crypto industry that carries user data sovereignty, asset transactions, and community operations.
Owning them means truly owning your digital identity and freedom in the Web3 world.
