Vikrant Sharma, CEO of Cake Wallet, on Bitcoin Privacy, Bitcoin Silent Payments, Monero, and Using Cryptocurrency Anywhere | Ep. 447

In an exclusive Cryptonews Spotlight interview, Vikrant Sharma, CEO of Cake Wallet, breaks down why privacy matters more than ever, how Silent Payments are revolutionizing Bitcoin usability, and why Monero still matters.

“Without privacy tools, Bitcoin becomes a surveillance system.”

Vikrant Sharma’s journey into crypto started in 2013, long before mainstream hype. Back then, Bitcoin felt like a cypherpunk movement—built for privacy, decentralization, and financial sovereignty. But today?

“Bitcoin adoption is so wide now. You’re getting all types of people… even those just interested in the number going up.”

Yet Sharma warns that in the race toward mass adoption, core values like privacy risk being forgotten. Bitcoin, he argues, was never meant to be just a speculative asset:

“You should be able to use your Bitcoin like you use cash. I hand you cash—you don’t know where it came from, and that’s how it should be with crypto too.”

“Bitcoin needs to be used—not just HODLed.”

The “just HODL” culture, Sharma says, undermines what made Bitcoin valuable in the first place. Cake Wallet’s mission is to bring back real-world usability through self-custody and privacy-first design.

“Storing value is great, but Bitcoin should also be used for goods and services… We celebrate Pizza Day for a reason.”

Cake Wallet began as a Monero-only app in 2017, emphasizing privacy from the start. It later expanded to include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other assets—but always with a focus on self-custody and decentralization.

“Silent Payments let you reuse the same address—privately.”

One of Cake Wallet’s most notable innovations is Silent Payments, which eliminate the privacy risks of address reuse in Bitcoin.

“You give everyone the same silent payment address, but each transaction creates a brand new on-chain address only you can access.”

Unlike regular Bitcoin addresses that expose transaction history, Silent Payments preserve user privacy. Cake Wallet was the first to implement BIP352-based silent payments, and Sharma wants more wallets to adopt it:

“We’re MIT licensed, open-source. Steal our code. We’d love to see more wallets integrate it.”

“Monero is clean. It just works.”

If Bitcoin is still evolving toward privacy, Monero already delivers it.

“When I do a Monero transaction, there’s nothing to worry about. The receiver doesn’t get any further information. It’s private and clean.”

According to Sharma, Cake Wallet holds about 80% of the Monero wallet market. Even Exodus Wallet is now redirecting users to Cake as it phases out Monero support.

Despite being stigmatized as a “dark net coin,” Sharma argues Monero is simply what Bitcoin was supposed to be: fully private, permissionless, and decentralized.

“People were scared of Bitcoin at the beginning too. It was the ‘drug coin.’ Now Monero faces the same perception.”

“We need rails to use crypto anywhere.”

To make crypto useful in daily life, Cake Wallet developed Cake Pay, a solution that lets users buy gift cards and debit cards with crypto—instantly.

“Let’s say you’re in line at Chipotle. You get your total and buy a gift card for that exact amount with Bitcoin or Monero. Pay and done.”

Cake Pay supports global usage and popular merchants like Amazon, SPAR, and Chipotle. It even allows Apple Wallet and Android Wallet integration.

“Ideally, we want merchants to accept crypto directly. But until then, this bridges the gap.”

“Visa and Mastercard should be building crypto rails.”

Sharma sees legacy payment networks at a crossroads:

“If I were Visa or Mastercard, I’d be building crypto payment tools today. Either they adapt or go out of business.”

With consumer-ready rails like Cake Pay, Sharma believes crypto can meet—and even exceed—the convenience of traditional finance, particularly in regions where card infrastructure is less reliable.

“Quantum computing is a real risk—and it’s accelerating.”

Asked about existential threats to crypto, Sharma didn’t hesitate to name quantum computing.

“The acceleration is spooky. Especially with AI helping solve problems faster… I’m glad smarter people than me are working on it.”

He remains optimistic that wallet-level defenses can be implemented and notes that Cake Wallet is already engaged with researchers looking to build quantum-resistant solutions.

What’s Next for Cake Wallet?

Expect more in 2025. Sharma hinted that Lightning Network support is on the way—with a stronger focus on non-custodial design:

“We’re working toward a better Lightning implementation—non-custodial and privacy-respecting.”

Cake Pay will soon be fully integrated into the app, allowing users to generate gift cards directly without using an external site. And while privacy remains Cake’s North Star, Sharma sees a much bigger mission:

“Bitcoin should be usable, private, and free. That’s what gives it value. That’s what we’re building toward.”