In a recent Q&A session held at Consensus Hong Kong, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, shared insights on the upcoming privacy-focused blockchain, Midnight. As the mainnet launch approaches in March, Hoskinson clarified that Midnight”s strategy will not be to attract users from established privacy-centric communities such as Monero or ZCash.
“You don”t try to get anybody from Monero or ZCash over,” Hoskinson stated, emphasizing that these groups represent a distinct demographic. He acknowledged the importance of privacy advocates, remarking that their perspectives are valuable, yet Midnight”s primary objective is much broader. “What we”re going for is the billions of people that don”t know they need privacy but give it to them by default,” he added.
This approach suggests a significant shift in focus from traditional privacy-centric blockchains, which Hoskinson critiques for their binary view of privacy. He elaborated on the misconception that privacy can be simply toggled on or off, stating, “What Monero and ZCash have been trying to convince people is it”s like a light switch. We”re private. The switch is on. Everybody else is not. The switch is off. That”s not how that works.”
As Midnight gears up for its launch, it aims to educate and onboard a wider audience, potentially reshaping how privacy is perceived and utilized within the blockchain sector. The initiative represents Cardano”s ongoing commitment to enhancing user privacy while catering to a more extensive user base that might not yet recognize the necessity of such features.
