Binance Co Founder Warns Transparency Limits Business Use Of Crypto

Concerns about transparency on public blockchains continue to surface as a barrier to using cryptocurrency for everyday payments, especially among businesses. Industry voices now argue that without stronger privacy protections, digital assets may struggle to move beyond speculation into real commercial use.

Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ and co-founder of Binance, pointed to transaction visibility as a structural issue that discourages companies from integrating crypto into payroll, vendor payments, or operational spending. Public ledgers allow anyone to trace transfers between wallets, which can unintentionally expose sensitive financial information.

“Lack of Privacy may be the missing link for crypto payments adoption. Imagine a company pays employees in crypto onchain. With the current state of crypto, you can pretty much see how much everyone in the company is paid by clicking the ‘from’ address.”

That level of openness, originally designed to build trustless verification, creates friction in corporate environments where confidentiality is standard practice. Salary structures, supplier relationships, and internal budgeting data could all become visible to competitors, analysts, or even malicious actors.

During an earlier discussion with venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya on the All-In Podcast, Zhao also highlighted physical safety implications tied to transparent wallets. Large balances linked to identifiable individuals may attract unwanted attention, raising concerns beyond digital security.

From a business perspective, transaction metadata can reveal patterns that extend far beyond simple payments. Observers can infer operational scale, partnership networks, or shifts in financial health by analyzing blockchain activity. Such signals would normally remain private within traditional banking systems.

According to Zhao, that reality limits willingness among institutions to fully embrace crypto rails for commerce, even as interest in Web3 infrastructure grows. Without mechanisms to shield transactional details while maintaining compliance, many firms may remain hesitant to treat blockchain as a primary financial layer rather than an experimental one.

Debate around privacy-focused solutions, including zero-knowledge technologies and selective disclosure models, has intensified as developers attempt to balance transparency with usability. The outcome of that effort could play a central role in determining whether cryptocurrencies evolve into practical payment systems or remain largely investment assets.