«Private transactions are not the default behavior» There is no "default" behavior. The software gives you the choice between shielded and unshielded, and the

«Private transactions are not the default behavior» There is no "default" behavior. The software gives you the choice between shielded and unshielded, and the enduser has to choose. There is no default. «requires that you trust the developers» Not really. In the latest Powers of Tau ceremony, there were 87 participants. This group spans more than just the developers. Even if 86 participants were malicious or compromised, as long as there is at least 1 honest participant, the system can be trusted. «Zooko only pays himself a $300,000/mo» Not sure why this is a problem. By comparison, Satoshi "paid himself" (mined) 1M BTC =~ $6 billion dollars. I'm fine with the founders of world-changing cryptocurrencies being handsomely rewarded.