Manta Network's Kenny Li: When Gas Fees Are High, Privacy Becomes Luxury

At Brooklyn's DeFi Conference, top-tier cryptocurrency entrepreneurs discussed the most crucial aspects of Web3 and blockchain progress.

Privacy for everyone

Kenni Lai from Manta Network, James Carlyle from Obscuro and Carter Wetzel from Secret Foundation held a panel discussion about cutting-edge privacy practices in Web3, DeFi, and crypto.

Didn't have a chance to review the @DeFi_Conference panel on #Web3 #privacy? Read the recap of the #prifi conversation here, with some key quotes from founders of @MantaNetwork, @obscuronet, @SecretNetwork, and @railgun_project https://t.co/IhM3K1vwaJ

— Manta Network (Hiring!) (@MantaNetwork) January 11, 2022

Mr. Lai stressed that the requirements for the privacy and anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions evolved drastically since the inception of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH):

The idea of privacy wasn’t there beyond pseudonymity, but things have definitely evolved since then, and the needs are evolving as well.

He added that, unfortunately, when gas fees are too high, privacy becomes a luxury instead of a utility. As such, only resource-efficient privacy solutions can really address those dangerous bottlenecks.

James Carlyle emphasized that privacy in payments is no longer something that is needed only by darknet actors and money smugglers. Even crypto owners not involved in illegal activities should take care to avoid the obfuscation of their banking data.

Is an Ethereum address more private than a Twitter handle?

That is why it is privacy that ensures the transition from Web2 to Web3. At the same time, for modern data mining instruments, an Ethereum public address is as valuable as a Twitter handle. Thus, the space badly needs a 100% novel approach to privacy issues.

As covered by U.Today previously, Manta Network pioneers "privacy layer" development for decentralized applications on Polkadot and its sister chain, Kusama.

On Nov. 16, 2021, Manta Network secured $28.8 million from a number of highly reputable VCs and heavyweight business angels.

Polychain Capital, CoinFund and ParaFi Capital led the round, while Alameda Research, DeFiance Capital, LongHash Ventures, SkyVision Capital, Zee Prime Capital, The Spartan Group, Divergence Capital, SNZ Holding, CMS Holdings, Global Coin Ventures, ConSensys and Digital Currency Group also supported Manta in this fundraising.