To this, some people say “Hey, I’ve got nothing to hide, so I’ve got nothing to fear!”. While this is an understandable attitude, as most people are law-abiding, it’s misguided. To anyone who says that they’ve got nothing to gain from privacy, we suggest a thought experiment:

Imagine if everyone could type in your name and see every website you’ve ever visited, all your bank transactions and any private conversations you’ve had. I would bet that you’ve said things about people that would hurt their feelings, visited websites that your significant other might not approve of, as well as giving up so much information that hackers/stalkers/enemies will be able to use against you. It would be hugely damaging to your social identity. This is why privacy is important for everyone, especially the law-abiding, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. And it’s why we think that the more privacy you can choose to exert over your affairs, the better it is for everyone.

Better privacy is a safeguard against a future that is unknowable. There is an immense amount of data in the blockchain, and as the industry grows with ever more payment/app information, there is a considerable incentive for big companies (such as Google & Facebook) to get involved and track even more of your personal data. Blockchain analysis tools are getting more advanced by the day, and political situations in countries will never stay static. The future is impossible to predict, which is why Nav Coin believe’s that the default state of your information should be one that protects you.

What makes a good privacy coin?

NavCoin is a cryptocurrency that falls under the category of “privacy coin”. The idea behind Nav Coin is to make transactions as private as possible, much more so than a normal cryptocurrency where the ledger and all transactions, despite being controlled by cryptography, are technically viewable by the public — and so are vulnerable to blockchain analysis.

Here’s an example. A normal cryptocurrency transaction contains information such as the recipient, the sender, and the amount transferred. It looks like this: