When Bitcoin was launched in 2008, the technical design was "set in stone" (actual Satoshi quote). It was a significant breakthrough - he solved the double spending problem with POW and the longest chain rule. On the forums, Satoshi, Hal, and others struggled with the need for privacy and the lack of a viable solution. They didn't have the technology yet. It came much later in 2014, when CryptoNote was developed (the Genesis of Monero). Hal died quickly from cancer that same year. Hal said in an interview (paraphrasing) "if you see a new crypto money that doesn't have privacy, it's not legit." This is all documented and not a matter of opinion. Regardless, who cares about what some anon developer said in 2008? Cryptography and computer science is light years ahead now - why would you bet the freedom of mankind on caveman cryptography? Privacy is a prerequisite for freedom and human dignity. If that offends someone's financial position, they're not a cypherpunk, they're a ponzi speculator.