In crypto, privacy simply isn’t simple enough

Privacy in crypto needs to be as easy as tapping a button, or users will continue sacrificing security for convenience.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

The following is a guest post and opinion by Adam Gągol, Co-founder of Aleph Zero.

It’s often said that if you want something done, make it easy to do. This truism runs across disciplines from marketing to sales. Perhaps it has never been more true than in crypto, with ten centralized exchanges accounting for 90% of all crypto trading, where user experience is simple and easy. Privacy in crypto is another layer of complexity on top of an already complex technological paradigm. If users are to come on board, we need to make it private. And in order to make it private, we need to make it simple.

The Complexity Barrier

Current privacy solutions in the crypto space require users to navigate a labyrinth of technical jargon, multiple interfaces, and convoluted processes. Many crypto wallets — the vast majority of which aren’t private by default — feature relatively intricate designs making it difficult for users of “web2” products to adjust. What should be a basic function – keeping your financial transactions private – often requires advanced technical knowledge.

This complexity exists within an ecosystem that already challenges users with poor user experience design. Basic crypto functions like sending tokens, managing private keys, and connecting to decentralized applications remain far from intuitive. When privacy becomes yet another layer of complexity that hasn’t been properly abstracted away, most users simply give up.

The result? They default to centralized exchanges, surrendering the very autonomy and self-sovereignty that drew many to crypto in the first place.

Privacy Should be User-Centered 

The Fogg Behavior Model (FBM) explains this phenomenon well. Developed by Dr. BJ Fogg of Stanford University, the model states that for a behavior to occur, three elements must converge: motivation, ability, and a prompt. When any of these elements is missing, the behavior won’t happen.

In the context of crypto privacy, users may have high motivation (protecting their financial information), but if the ability component is too difficult (requiring technical knowledge, multiple steps, or confusing interfaces) they simply won’t follow through, regardless of how many prompts they receive.

Research consistently shows that people avoid or refrain from activities, even when they know these activities are in their best interest, if the process is too complex. This explains why many crypto users understand the importance of privacy but continue using centralized exchanges, or chains, that track and share their transaction data.

Another significant hurdle is the fragmented nature of blockchain privacy. Users often need different privacy solutions for different blockchains, forcing them to learn multiple tools and techniques. We’re working to address this issue with our platform Common, which offers multi-chain privacy solutions with intuitive interfaces, but such approaches remain the exception rather than the rule. Privacy should ideally be chain-agnostic, providing a simple, one-stop solution for shielding transactions across different blockchains.

This fragmentation further increases the cognitive load on users and reinforces the perception that crypto privacy is “for experts only” – a dangerous notion that undermines one of the industry’s core value propositions; its openness and democratic instincts.

The Privacy Paradox in Finance

What makes this situation particularly puzzling is that financial privacy isn’t a new concept. Traditional banking has maintained transaction privacy as a default feature since the days of the Medici family. When you transfer money through a bank, other bank customers don’t see your transaction. This basic level of privacy has been standard for centuries.

Even though today’s internet users, particularly Gen Z, may share personal details freely on social media (and generally care less about privacy), they still expect privacy in their financial dealings. This disconnect between the privacy standards of traditional finance and crypto creates a barrier to adoption that the industry must address. (Interestingly, many Bitcoin users assume it has strong privacy protections.)

The crypto space faces a crucial challenge: it must simplify privacy or lose its retail appeal as people wake up to its poor privacy protections. Until users can protect their transaction data with the same ease they expect from traditional finance, mass adoption will remain elusive.