The Path from Here
San Francisco, 2022.
James Sullivan teaches a small workshop in a community center. Eight people. Mostly older adults. A few younger. They’re here to learn about private money. About protecting their financial autonomy. About having options.
He’s been doing this for a year now. Every few weeks. Small groups. Patient explanation. Hands-on help. This is what advocacy looks like. Not grand speeches. Not viral posts. Just helping people understand. Helping them choose.
Today’s group is diverse. A retired teacher worried about inflation eroding her savings. A small business owner tired of banking restrictions. A journalist who read about Bitcoin surveillance. A young woman who valued privacy on principle. An immigrant who’d left a country with capital controls. Three others with their own reasons for being here.
James had learned something over the past year: Everyone had different reasons for wanting privacy. Different fears. Different hopes. Different situations. But they all shared something fundamental: They wanted control over their own financial lives. They wanted options their governments and banks didn’t offer.
He started each workshop the same way. Not with technology. With a question.
“Why are you here?”
The answers varied. But the pattern was consistent. People were waking up to what surveillance meant. What control meant. What having no alternatives meant. They’d watched governments expand surveillance. Seen banks freeze accounts. Felt their savings lose value to inflation. And they wanted something different.
James had spent thirty years on a journey. From discovering the cypherpunks in 1993 to this moment. From skeptic to verifier to believer to advocate. The journey had transformed him. Not into someone who preached. Into someone who taught. Not into someone who pushed. Into someone who explained.
He thought about that journey sometimes. The arc of it. The completeness of it.
1993: Reading cypherpunk manifestos. Fascinated but skeptical. Private digital cash seemed impossible.
2008: Bitcoin launched. Satoshi proved the impossible. James remained skeptical but intrigued.
2011: Verifying Bitcoin. Testing it. Understanding it. Becoming a believer. The impossible was real.
2019: Discovering Bitcoin’s transparency problem. Through Sarah Wei’s story. Understanding that freedom from control wasn’t enough without freedom from surveillance.
2020: Finding Zcash. Verifying it. Understanding it. Seeing the complete solution. Bitcoin plus privacy. The full vision realized.
2021: Meeting Elena. Leyla. Marcus. Understanding why privacy mattered. Not abstractly. Concretely. Viscerally. For real people in real situations.
2022: Teaching. Helping. Advocating. Living the vision. His role complete.
Thirty years from skeptic to advocate. From observer to participant. From doubter to teacher. The journey was finished. His arc complete. His contribution made.
But the larger story continued. His eight students today. The hundreds he’d helped over the past year. The thousands or millions who’d make their own choices about privacy and freedom and what kind of future they wanted.
That was the real story. Not his journey. Theirs. The collective journey of millions making individual choices that would compound into collective outcomes.
James smiled at his students. Opened his laptop. Began the lesson.
“Let me show you what’s possible.”
How Adoption Happens
Technology adoption follows predictable patterns. Not because someone designs them that way. Because human behavior is consistent. People adopt new technologies in stages. Early innovators first. Then early adopters. Then the majority. Finally, everyone.
James explained this to his students using examples they’d seen.
“Think about smartphones,” he said. “In 2007, the iPhone launched. Who bought it first?”
“Tech enthusiasts,” someone answered.
“Right. The innovators. People who loved new technology. They bought it even though it was expensive, limited, had problems. They weren’t buying a perfect product. They were buying the future. Testing it. Proving it could work.”
He continued. “Then what happened?”
“More people bought smartphones. They got better. Cheaper. More useful.”
“Exactly. The early adopters. People who saw the value but wanted the technology more mature. They waited for the second generation. The third. They wanted proof it worked. Then they adopted it.”
“And then?”
“Everyone got a smartphone.”
James nodded. “The early majority. Then the late majority. Then everyone. By 2020, smartphones were ubiquitous. Normal. Expected. Not using one became exceptional.”
He showed them a chart. An S-curve. Slow growth at first. Then explosive growth. Then saturation.
“Every technology follows this curve. Electricity. Cars. Television. Internet. Smartphones. Always the same pattern.”
One student asked: “Where is Zcash on this curve?”
“Early,” James said. “Very early. Similar to where Bitcoin was in 2011 or 2012. The innovators built it. The early adopters are starting to use it. But the majority hasn’t arrived yet.”
He explained the stages for Zcash specifically.
Stage 1: Innovators (2016-2020)
The scientists who built Zcash. The cypherpunks who supported it. The developers who improved it. The researchers who advanced the cryptography. They proved it was possible. Proved it worked. Created the foundation.
This stage wasn’t about mass adoption. It was about proving the concept. Building the technology. Making it real.
Stage 2: Early Adopters (2020-2024)
People who desperately needed privacy. Elena escaping abuse. Leyla reporting under surveillance. Marcus protecting donors. Activists. Journalists. Dissidents. People for whom privacy wasn’t preference but necessity.
Also: Privacy-conscious individuals who understood surveillance even if they didn’t face immediate threats. People like James. People in this workshop. People who valued autonomy and wanted options.
This stage was about real-world usage. Testing in actual situations. Building ecosystem. Proving it worked not just technically but practically.
Stage 3: Early Majority (2024-2028?)
This would be when privacy became valued but not desperate. When people chose Zcash because they preferred privacy, not because they desperately needed it. When institutions started using it. When merchants accepted it. When wallets integrated it. When privacy became more normal.
This stage would require better infrastructure. Easier onboarding. More education. Growing awareness of surveillance threats. Network effects reaching critical mass.
Stage 4: Late Majority (2028-2032?)
Privacy as expected, not exceptional. When most people used shielded transactions by default. When transparent transactions became the minority. When privacy was baseline rather than add-on. When the tipping point had passed.
Stage 5: Universal (2030s+)
Privacy ubiquitous. The default. The norm. Surveillance exceptional. Transparent transactions used only when specifically needed. Privacy built into every wallet, every service, every transaction as standard.
James was honest about uncertainty. “These timelines are guesses. Could be faster. Could be slower. Could fail entirely. Adoption isn’t guaranteed. But the pattern. if it succeeds. will follow this curve.”
He showed them Bitcoin’s actual adoption. Launched 2009. Ignored for years. Mocked. Dismissed. Then 2013: First surge. Media attention. Sudden growth. Then consolidation. Then 2017: Another surge. Then 2020-2021: Institutional adoption. Major companies buying Bitcoin. Countries making it legal tender.
“Twelve years from launch to institutional adoption,” James said. “Slow, then suddenly fast. Ignored, then inevitable. This is how adoption works.”
One student asked: “Why is it slow at first?”
James explained. Learning curve. Infrastructure. Awareness. Coordination problems. Early adopters face the hardest barriers. No ecosystem. No support. No network effects yet. They pay the costs of being first.
But as more people adopt, barriers fall. Infrastructure develops. Awareness spreads. Network effects kick in. Each new user makes adoption easier for the next. Growth accelerates.
“That’s where we are now with Zcash,” James said. “The hard part. Building the foundation. Creating the infrastructure. Spreading awareness. It’s slow. It’s difficult. But if it succeeds, it accelerates.”
“What makes you think it will succeed?” someone asked.
James was honest. “I don’t know that it will. No guarantees. But the conditions are right. The need is growing. Governments are building surveillance money. People are becoming aware of threats. The tools work. The technology is ready. Whether adoption happens depends on millions of individual choices. Including yours.”
He looked at his students. “That’s why you’re here. That’s why this matters. You’re part of the early adopters. The people who adopt while it’s still hard. While there’s still risk. While the outcome is uncertain. Your choices determine whether the early majority follows. Whether the tipping point is reached. Whether adoption succeeds.”
They understood. They were here because they valued privacy enough to adopt early. To accept the difficulty. To be part of building the future rather than waiting for it to arrive.
That was how revolutions happened. Not through masses suddenly changing. Through early adopters bearing the costs of being first. Through pioneers building the path that others would follow. Through individual choices that created the conditions for mass adoption.
Network Effects of Privacy
James explained why privacy was different from other technologies. Why network effects mattered even more for privacy than for phones or social networks.
“Most network effects are about value,” he said. “A phone is valuable if other people have phones. Social media is valuable if your friends use it. More users means more value for everyone.”
“Privacy is similar but stronger. More users doesn’t just add value. It fundamentally changes the nature of the privacy itself.”
He drew a diagram. One person using Zcash. A dot alone on the board.
“If only one person uses Zcash, their privacy is weak. Obvious. Any shielded transaction is probably them. They stand out. They’re marked. The privacy is theatrical.”
He added more dots. Dozens. Hundreds.
“With many users, privacy becomes real. Any shielded transaction could be from any of these users. The anonymity set grows. Tracing becomes harder. Privacy strengthens.”
He added thousands of dots.
“With thousands of users, privacy is strong. With millions, nearly unbreakable. Each new user makes every existing user’s privacy better. Not just their own privacy. Everyone’s privacy.”
One student got it immediately.
Your choice to use Zcash makes Elena safer. Your transactions add to the anonymity set.
“Exactly,” James said. “Make it harder to trace anyone. Elena’s privacy improves because you chose privacy. Even though you never met her. Even though you have different reasons for using Zcash. Your choice helps her.”
This was unique to privacy. With phones, your phone doesn’t make my phone work better. It just makes it more useful. With privacy, your privacy literally makes my privacy stronger. The mathematics change. The anonymity set grows. The difficulty of deanonymization increases.
“This creates a virtuous cycle,” James explained. “More users → better privacy → attracts more users → even better privacy. Each step reinforces the next.”
He contrasted this with Bitcoin’s privacy problems.
“With Bitcoin, using a mixer makes you suspicious. Using CoinJoin marks you. Choosing privacy reveals intent to hide. The more exceptional privacy becomes, the weaker it is.”
“With Zcash, as more people use shielded transactions, using them becomes normal. Less suspicious. Less revealing. The privacy improves as adoption grows.”
This was why reaching critical mass mattered so much. Before the tipping point, privacy users were exceptional. After the tipping point, transparency users were exceptional. The flip mattered enormously.
James showed them the current state. The Zcash shielded pool had grown significantly. More ZEC was in shielded addresses than ever before. Wallets like Zashi defaulted to shielded. Auto-shielding features converted transparent ZEC to shielded automatically.
“Each of these improvements accelerates adoption,” James said. “Makes privacy easier. More normal. More accessible. And each new user makes the next user’s privacy stronger.”
He extrapolated forward. Showed them what different adoption levels meant.
At 1% adoption:
Privacy users still exceptional but growing. Anonymity set meaningful. Tracing difficult but possible. Surveillance focused on other targets. Privacy users somewhat safer.
At 10% adoption:
Privacy becoming normal. Anonymity set large. Tracing very difficult. Surveillance resources insufficient to monitor everyone. Privacy users significantly safer. Network effects strong.
At 50% adoption:
Privacy is default. Anonymity set enormous. Tracing practically impossible. Surveillance fails. Privacy users protected by the crowd. Transparency exceptional. The flip complete.
“That’s why your choice to use Zcash matters,” James told his students. “Not just for you. For everyone.
Closer to the flip.”
“Right now, we’re below 1% of cryptocurrency users. Early. Very early. But growing. Every workshop like this. Every person who chooses privacy. Every transaction in the shielded pool. Moves us forward.”
One student asked: “How long until we reach the tipping point?”
James was honest. “Unknown. Could be five years. Could be fifteen. Could never happen. Depends on millions of individual choices. On whether governments push people toward privacy by building surveillance money. On whether education spreads. On whether usability improves. On whether people like you choose to adopt and advocate.”
“But,” he added, “I’m more optimistic than I was a year ago. Adoption is accelerating. Awareness is growing. The window is still open. And people are starting to understand what’s at stake.”
The Window Is Closing
James shifted to urgency. Not fear-mongering. Just honesty about timing.
“We need to talk about why this decade matters. Why acting now is different from acting in ten years. Why the window of opportunity is closing.”
He showed them three trends. Each real. Each accelerating. Each converging in this decade.
Trend 1: CBDCs Rolling Out
Central Bank Digital Currencies. Government-issued digital money with surveillance and control built in.
“China launched the digital yuan in 2020,” James said. “Full deployment ongoing. The government can track every transaction. Can program the money. Can enforce rules through the currency itself.”
He showed them news articles. The European Central Bank was developing a digital euro. Target: mid-2020s. The Federal Reserve was researching a digital dollar. Timeline: uncertain but actively pursued. Over 100 countries were exploring or developing CBDCs.
This isn’t coming. This is here.
The capabilities being built were extensive. Money that expired if not spent by certain dates. Money that could only be used for approved purchases. Money that could be frozen based on behavior or social credit scores. Money that enabled complete financial surveillance.
“This isn’t conspiracy theory,” James emphasized. “This is official policy. Central banks publish papers about these capabilities. They’re building this openly.”
Trend 2: Surveillance Maturing
The technology for financial surveillance was advancing rapidly.
AI pattern recognition improving. Data analysis becoming more sophisticated. International coordination increasing. Private sector surveillance expanding. Integration with other systems accelerating.
“Ten years ago, analyzing blockchain data was difficult,” James said. “Companies like Chainalysis existed but were limited. Today, they can trace most Bitcoin transactions. Connect addresses to identities. Build comprehensive financial profiles.”
The technology would only improve. AI would get better at pattern recognition. Data would become more integrated. Analysis would become more comprehensive. The surveillance infrastructure was maturing.
“By 2030, the surveillance capabilities will be far beyond what exists today,” James said. “Not just tracking transactions. Predicting behavior. Identifying patterns. Connecting data across systems. Total financial visibility.”
Trend 3: Legal Infrastructure
Regulations were tightening. Legal frameworks for surveillance were being established. International cooperation was increasing.
Know Your Customer requirements expanding. Anti-Money Laundering regulations reaching more services. Travel Rule requiring sharing of transaction details. Privacy tools being restricted. Exchanges banning privacy coins in some jurisdictions.
“The legal infrastructure for financial surveillance is being built now,” James explained. “By 2030, it will be comprehensive. Coordinated internationally. Enforced strictly.”
The Convergence
James showed them how these three trends intersected.
“By 2030. maybe sooner. we’ll likely have:
CBDCs deployed in most countries. Programmable, trackable, controllable by default.
Surveillance technology mature. AI-powered, comprehensive, integrated with other systems.
Legal frameworks established. Regulations comprehensive, internationally coordinated, strictly enforced.
At that point, the infrastructure of surveillance money will be complete. Deployed. Sophisticated. Legal. Normal.”
He paused. Let this sink in.
“If that happens. if surveillance money becomes the default infrastructure. opting out becomes much harder. Not impossible. But much harder. The window closes.”
One student asked: “Why? Can’t we just adopt privacy tools later?”
James explained. “Network effects work both ways. If surveillance infrastructure becomes dominant, it has the network effects. Everyone uses it. Services are built for it. Regulations assume it. Alternatives become exceptional. Suspicious. Difficult.”
“Right now, the infrastructure of freedom and the infrastructure of surveillance are competing. Both exist. Both are growing. Both are possible. People can choose.”
“But if surveillance infrastructure reaches critical mass first, it becomes very difficult for freedom infrastructure to compete. The network effects favor the incumbent. The regulations protect the incumbent. The default wins.”
“That’s why this decade matters. Right now, the outcome is uncertain. Open. Contestable. In ten years, it might not be.”
But James balanced urgency with hope.
“Bitcoin for censorship resistance. Zcash for privacy. Wallets improving constantly. Education spreading. Adoption growing. Real usage increasing.”
“The outcome isn’t determined. It depends on choices. Millions of individual choices about which infrastructure to use, which future to build, what becomes normal.”
“Governments are building CBDCs. That’s happening. We can’t stop it. But we can build alternatives. Can make privacy normal before surveillance becomes default. Can reach the tipping point before the window closes.”
“That’s why your choice matters. That’s why this workshop matters. That’s why acting now is different from waiting.”
“The window is open. Still open. But it won’t stay open forever.”
“The tools we choose now. this decade, these years. determine whether privacy remains possible or becomes exceptional. Whether freedom infrastructure or surveillance infrastructure becomes dominant. Whether the future is panopticon or privacy.”
“That’s why now matters. That’s why your choice matters. That’s why we can’t wait.”
Tachyon and Scaling
One question remained: Could Zcash scale?
Bitcoin struggled with scalability. Seven transactions per second. Slow confirmations during high usage. High fees during congestion. These limitations prevented Bitcoin from becoming everyday money. It remained primarily a store of value. Not a medium of exchange at scale.
Zcash faced the same challenge. With added complexity from privacy features. The shielded transactions required more computation than transparent ones. More data. More verification work.
Could private money work for billions of users? Or would it remain a niche tool for small numbers who could afford slow transactions and high fees?
Project Tachyon addresses this question. Announced in April 2025, Tachyon is a proposed architectural upgrade that uses recursive zero-knowledge proofs to enable massive scalability. Expected for mainnet integration in early 2026, this multi-year development effort aims to compress vast amounts of computation into small proofs through recursive composition - meaning one proof could verify thousands of other proofs, enabling nearly unlimited compression and making private transactions at scale possible.
James didn’t go deep into the mathematics. His students didn’t need that. They needed to understand what it meant.
“Tachyon is being developed now,” he explained. “Multi-year effort. Not deployed yet. But the mathematics work - Halo 2 proved the foundation. The path forward exists.”
“Why does this matter? Because private money needs to work for everyone, not just early adopters willing to pay high fees and wait for slow confirmations. It needs to become infrastructure for global private commerce.”
“Bitcoin proved censorship-resistant money could work. Zcash proved private money could work. Tachyon will prove private money can scale. All three pieces necessary. All three now possible.”
“Timeline? The announcement was April 2025, with expected mainnet integration in early 2026. But this is cutting-edge cryptography with significant engineering challenges. The actual deployment might take longer. What matters is that the vision is clear and the path is real.”
“This matters because scaling is the final piece. Decentralization - check. Privacy - check. Scaling - in progress. When all three work together, private money can serve everyone. Not just those who need it desperately. Everyone.”
“That’s the endgame. Private money at planetary scale. Financial privacy for billions. The complete vision realized.”
One student asked: “What if Tachyon fails?” James was honest. “Then other solutions will emerge. This isn’t the only path to scaling. Other teams are working on other approaches. The Zcash community is committed to solving this. Tachyon is the current leading approach. But if it fails, something else will work.”
“The key point: Scaling is solvable. The limitations aren’t fundamental. They’re engineering challenges. Difficult but not impossible. The same way zero-knowledge proofs seemed impossible until they weren’t. The same way trustless privacy seemed impossible until Halo solved it.” “So I’m optimistic. Not because scaling is easy. Because the motivation is strong, the team is capable, and the mathematics suggest it’s possible.”
The Tipping Point
James wanted his students to understand when everything changed. When privacy flipped from exceptional to normal.
“Think about HTTPS,” he said. “Encrypted web connections. In 2010, most websites used HTTP. Unencrypted. Your connection to websites was visible to anyone watching the network.”
“HTTPS existed. But most sites didn’t use it. Using HTTPS marked you as paranoid or suspicious. Most people didn’t care. Didn’t understand why encryption mattered.”
“Then things changed. Slowly at first. Some major sites adopted HTTPS. Google, Facebook, banks. Then browsers started warning about HTTP sites. ‘Not secure’ labels appeared. Using HTTP became marked as dangerous.”
“By 2020, HTTPS was default. Most websites encrypted. Browsers assumed HTTPS. HTTP became exceptional. The flip was complete.”
“What changed? Network effects. Each site that adopted HTTPS made it more normal. Education spread. People understood surveillance risks. Browsers made it easier. The tipping point was crossed.”
“Same pattern with encrypted messaging. In 2010, most messaging was unencrypted. SMS. Email. Facebook messages. All visible to carriers and platforms. Encrypted messaging existed but was for paranoid people.”
“Then Signal launched. Then WhatsApp added end-to-end encryption. By 2016, billions of people used encrypted messaging daily. Without thinking about it. Without being paranoid. Just normal.”
The tipping point is when WhatsApp made encryption default. Two billion users suddenly had encrypted messaging. Not because they chose it. Because it became default.
James showed them where financial privacy stood on this curve.
Pre-tipping point (current state):
Using privacy tools is exceptional. Marks you as privacy-conscious, suspicious, or paranoid. Small minority does it. Systems designed for transparency with privacy as bolt-on. Optional privacy that stigmatizes users.
Approaching tipping point:
Growing adoption. Mix of private and transparent users. Some services defaulting to privacy. Awareness spreading. Network effects building. Critical mass approaching but not yet reached.
Post-tipping point (future):
Privacy is default. Using transparent transactions is exceptional. Systems designed for privacy with transparency as option. Majority behavior has flipped. Privacy normal and unremarkable.
“Right now, we’re pre-tipping point,” James said. “Privacy users are exceptional. But approaching the transition. Each new user. Each better wallet. Each education effort. Each person in this room. Moves us closer.”
“What triggers the flip? No one knows exactly. With HTTPS, it was browsers marking HTTP as insecure. With encrypted messaging, it was WhatsApp’s default encryption. With financial privacy, it might be governments overreaching with CBDCs. Might be surveillance becoming too obvious. Might be enough people simply choosing privacy that it becomes normal.”
“But we know the pattern. Slow, then suddenly fast. Exceptional, then normal. Minority behavior, then majority behavior. The flip happens when network effects reach critical mass.”
He showed them signs of approaching tipping point:
Wallets defaulting to shielded transactions. Zashi, the leading Zcash wallet, made privacy the default. Users had to actively choose transparency. This was the right direction.
Hardware wallet support. Keystone added Zcash support through Zashi integration. Ledger released their Zcash Shielded App. Cold storage for shielded funds becoming easier. Infrastructure improving.
Exchange support. More exchanges listing Zcash. More supporting shielded deposits and withdrawals. Access improving.
Education spreading. More people understanding why privacy matters. More awareness of surveillance threats. More workshops like this one.
Real usage growing. Elena, Leyla, Marcus, and thousands like them using Zcash for real needs. Network effects building. Anonymity set growing.
“These are signs of health,” James said. “Signs of approaching the tipping point. Not there yet. But moving in the right direction.”
“What determines when we cross it? Adoption. Simple as that. When enough people use privacy that it becomes normal rather than exceptional. When using transparent transactions seems strange rather than using private ones.”
“Maybe five years. Maybe ten. Maybe never if we don’t reach critical mass. Depends on millions of individual choices. Including yours.”
“But I’m optimistic. More optimistic than I was a year ago. The trends are positive. The awareness is growing. The tools are improving. The need is becoming more obvious as governments build surveillance money.”
“The tipping point is achievable. Not guaranteed. But possible. Your choice to be here, to learn, to adopt. that moves us closer. That’s how tipping points are reached. Through accumulation of individual choices that reach critical mass.”
James’s Resolution
The workshop ended. Eight people left with wallets on their phones and new understanding. Another step toward the tipping point.
James walked home through San Francisco streets. Thirty years from discovering the cypherpunks to this moment. From skeptic to believer to advocate to teacher.
He understood his role now. Not to complete the revolution. To participate in it. To verify the tools. To teach those who wanted to learn. To contribute something small but meaningful to something vast.
He’d verified. Spent years testing Bitcoin, then Zcash. Never taking anything on faith. Trust but verify. The cypherpunk principle.
He’d understood. Met Elena and saw privacy as survival. Read Leyla’s list and saw privacy as necessity. Followed Marcus and saw privacy as freedom. The human understanding mattered as much as the technical.
He’d taught. Eight people at a time. Week after week. Patient explanation. Hands-on help. Small scale. Humble. But meaningful.
His contribution was small. A few hundred people taught. Maybe a few thousand influenced through network effects. Small compared to the millions needed to reach the tipping point.
But the millions were composed of ones. His one mattered. Not because he was special. Because every one mattered.
James had spent thirty years moving from skeptic to advocate. That journey was complete.
But the larger story, the story of whether private money succeeded, whether privacy became normal, whether the cypherpunk vision was realized, that story was just beginning.
Revolutions weren’t built by heroes. They were built by countless ordinary people making extraordinary choices. Choosing freedom over convenience. Privacy over surveillance. Autonomy over control.
James had made his choice. Had done his part. His contribution made. His peace earned.
He’d lived long enough to see the cypherpunk dream become reality. To verify it worked. To help others understand. That was enough.
The revolution the cypherpunks had built for thirty years was real. The tools existed. The technology worked. The vision was achievable.
What happened next depended on people James would never meet. Making choices he couldn’t predict. Building a future he wouldn’t fully see.
The torch had been passed. The knowledge shared. The tools verified. The choice enabled.
The rest was up to everyone else.
And James was at peace with that.