Wasabi Kiss Pushes Decentralized Forward (Interview with CEO Max Hillebrand)

The ever-evolving cryptocurrency sector has seen many changes. One continuing challenge is the control of privacy and personal information.

Wasabi Wallet emerges as a beacon in this landscape, a privacy-enhancing edge, open-source, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet.

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A personal journey to Crypto

Max Hillebrand, CEO of zkSNACKs, reminiscing about their transition into the crypto world:

“I started with economics, specifically the Austrian school. During my university years I went down the rabbit hole of free software and privacy technology.

His commitment to the cause grew stronger with time. Reflecting on a pivotal moment in Bitcoin history, Hillebrand said, “The user-activated soft fork in 2017 was when I realized it was an inexhaustible tool.

Technological developments in the Crypto landscape

When Hillebrand began his journey, much of the technology we see today did not exist. He commented

“When I first got into this, Lightning Network, CoinJoins, all these secondary technologies were mostly theoretical.”

However, today, these characteristics are not only perceived but also present, shaping the very fabric of cryptocurrency.

Wasabi Bag: Leading the Privacy Revolution

According to Hillebrand, Wasabi Pocket embodies the spirit of free and open source. While handling standard Bitcoin wallet operations, its unique ability to execute CoinJoins makes it stand out. Explaining this, Hillebrand says:

“With CoinJoin, instead of having one person shout out their transaction, you have 100 people shouting out their transaction. The more people, the more private each shoutout becomes. This is the essence of Wasabi's transaction privacy.”

Another innovative feature of the Wasabi Wallet is the CoinJoin API, which Hillebrand explains, “This is an API where you can do CoinJoins with other wallets with the Wasabi coordinator.” This integration could improve transaction privacy across the wider Bitcoin ecosystem.

The great decentralized debate

The world of crypto has seen a separation between centralized and decentralized ideology. Hillebrand's perceptive view, observing,

“There's a big trade-off between a centralized system and a decentralized system.” While acknowledging the benefits of a centralized system, such as efficiency, he emphasized potential pitfalls, such as compromising privacy. But decentralization is very inefficient but also very personal. I think they can coexist, but it's just about creating that business.

Wasabi's way forward

Hillebrand envisions a future for Wasabi Wallet where complexity is hidden from users. He emphasizes, “The complexity must be handled by the software and protocol designers. Users should only have devices that work.”

In conclusion, as the crypto world evolves, privacy-oriented solutions like Wasabi Wallet can play a significant role. Representing both technological excellence and decentralization, the future looks promising for those seeking the potential of a crypto-cryptocurrency.