privacy is the absence of information leakage it's simply not possible to minimize metadata leakage on an unencrypted base layer like bitcoin or ethereum in the physical world we do have scarce assets that preserve this property. e.g gold can be melted to remove all traces of provenance in @RayDalio 's worlds: "Gold is my favorite... you can't trace it.... Gold coins can't be connected, which is a benefit, particularly in a world where connections are risky." in the digital world, the only scarce asset that preserves this property (no metadata, full fungibility) is shielded zec