The latest DROPS episode from the When Shift Happens podcast just landed, and it's one of those conversations that actually moves the needle on how we think about privacy in crypto.

Host Kevin (MR SHIFT) sits down with Francis Berwa, co-founder and CEO of zkPass, to unpack why ZK privacy tech is no longer niche – it's about to become infrastructure for the entire internet.

Francis makes a bold call: private data is undervalued today, but it will soon be worth far more than public data. And zkPass's ZK-TLS protocol is the tool that unlocks that value without ever exposing the underlying information.

If you're tired of overcollateralized DeFi loans or doxxing yourself for accredited investor status, pay attention – this tech changes everything.

From Bow Ties in College to Building ZK Infrastructure

Francis's story is the classic founder grind we all love.

Born in Congo, global childhood, landed in New York, launched a bow tie company while in college, survived eight failed startups, fought burnout, mental health struggles, and countless pivots.

He credits small wins and an adaptability mindset (forged from moving countries as a kid) for keeping him in the game.

Eventually the crypto rabbit hole pulled him in, and after realizing most oracles only handle public data, he co-founded zkPass to bring private data onchain – securely.

ZK-TLS in Plain English

Most people still think zero-knowledge is just "magic crypto math."

Francis breaks it down cleanly:

Every time you visit an HTTPS site (99% of the web), there's a secure tunnel (TLS) between you and the server.

zkPass injects zero-knowledge proofs into that tunnel so you can prove any statement about the data you received – without ever revealing the data itself.

Want to prove you're over 18 for an airdrop or token gate? Done.
Want to prove your credit score is above 700 for an undercollateralized loan? Done.
Want to prove you own a bank account with >$10k for a stablecoin on-ramp? Done.

All without the protocol or lender ever seeing your actual info.

No APIs needed on the data provider side. No trusting oracles. Just cryptographic proof that the statement is true.

The Crypto Use Cases That Got Everyone Talking

• Reputation-based & undercollateralized lending using off-chain credit history or on-chain activity
• Frictionless accredited investor verification for token launches (no more Google Forms and screenshots)
• Private KYC/KYB for institutional or high-risk drops without doxxing users
• Proving medical status or records without exposing sensitive health data
• Bank account ownership proofs for compliant fiat ramps while staying private
• Eventually killing data brokers and letting users monetize their own data securely

Francis predicts we'll move from today's overcollateralized DeFi primitive to a world where your proven reputation (on-chain + verified off-chain) becomes your collateral.

That's huge for degens who are creditworthy off-chain but poor on-chain, or whales who want leverage without dumping their bags as collateral.

Why zkPass Is Different From Everything Else

Most ZK projects require the data source to integrate or run special nodes.

zkPass works with the existing HTTPS internet.

That means any website, any bank portal, any medical record system – as long as it's behind TLS, you can generate a proof.

No cooperation required from the data holder.

That scalability is what makes Francis believe this goes mainstream faster than people expect.

Full Episode Timestamps (Perfect Weekend Watch)

0:00 Meet Francis of zkPass
1:50 The Fundamentals of Growing a Crypto Startup
3:17 From Congo to New York: Francis’ Journey
4:06 Launching a Bow Tie Business in College
7:07 Adaptability from a Global Childhood
8:35 Eight Failures and What They Taught
13:07 Surviving Burnout and Mental Struggles
15:15 Small Successes That Fueled the Fire
18:04 Crypto Rollercoasters & Sustainable Growth
18:30 From Bow Ties to Blockchain: The Crypto Pivot
21:33 What Is Zero Knowledge (ZK)?
23:12 ZK + TLS: Making the Internet Verifiable
25:20 Explaining zkPass to Your Mom
28:22 Chainlink for Private Data? zkPass vs Public Oracles
30:16 Why APIs Can’t Cover the Web
32:00 Crypto Use Cases for zkPass
33:38 Beyond Collateral: Trustless Reputation Lending
35:13 Medical Privacy & Stablecoin Bank Transfers
38:26 What Makes zkPass Tech Unique
40:29 Yes/No Verifications: Trusting the zk Black Box
43:34 Why Data Privacy Is the Future

Watch the full episode here → https://x.com/KevinWSHPod/status/1989908536953127187

If you're building in identity, lending, compliance, or just care about actual privacy (not the fake kind most projects sell), this is required listening.

Private data + ZK = the next real unlock after DeFi summer and NFT summer.

zkPass is still early, but conversations like this show the infrastructure is getting damn close to ready.