The whole idea of a whitepaper has been a bit overblown IMO. A detailed roadmap with good communication and a good community is all I need. I don't care about an academic paper on blockchain tech. It's been pretty well shown that folks can just hire someone to write a whitepaper that looks impressive but is practically meaningless. But anyway, I see why a lot of people feel the need to have it with a project.
Like other's have said, privacy features are really where its at. If Privcy can become seen as a leader in that segment, the price will absolutely explode. I'm anxious to see what happens if and when the greater market gets on another big bull run.
I agree that whitepaper is just a fancy thing but on the other hand, for some people that do not have enough time to do a thorough research (not my case) it can help to understand which way this cryptocurrency will go and when to expect it.
If I do a research on a coin, I look on a whitepaper to see it summarized as I look on the roadmap mainly and if I like it I continue to read it line by line.
So for PRiVCY, I don't need a whitepaper but I will be happy to read it.
With so many investment choices how can you know what to invest in without reading a whitepaper? I can understand if someone is just in it for trading, but for anyone that says they are in it for the long term - and DOES NOT read the whitepaper, is just adding risk.
Privacy crypto is a perfect example. Not all are created equal. How do you know which ones deserve your hard earned money?
If a crypto project says "oh we heard you, we won't publish a white-paper" would you be more, or less, inclined to trade or invest in that project?